,1  m  mubsmt  ^ 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


/    //  BV   1534    .H37    1867 

Haven,  Charlotte  Maria. 
Beginning  and  growth  of  the 
^f^^if  christian  life,  or,  The 


>£ 


EGINNING  AND    GROWTH 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE; 


OB, 

J 

THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


'•  Herein  Is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit ;  so  shall  ye  be  mj 
disciples." 


FOURTH    EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

AMERICAN    UNITARIAN    ASSOCIATION 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  yeax  1855,  by 

CROBBY,     NiCHOtfl,     AND     COMPANY, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachxisetts. 


NOTICE. 


The  Directors  of  the  Sunday-School  Society  think 
proper  to  accompany  the  works  which  appear  under 
their  sanction  with  a  brief  statement  of  the  views  by 
which  they  are  guided. 

It  is  their  desire  to  aid  in  circulating  books  that  may 
promote  the  love  of  God  and  man,  books  that  may  re- 
liably assist  the  teacher  in  his  important  work,  or  give  to 
the  pupil  lessons  in  harmony  with  the  law  of  Christ. 
No  work  will  be  pubhshed  by  them  which  does  not, 
in  their  opinion,  fulfil  these  conditions.  They  will 
neither  cause  to  be  printed,  nor  otherwise  recommend, 
books  inconsistent  with  a  Christianity  at  once  liberal 
and  evangelical.  But  they  do  not  consider  thenz.'selves 
responsible  for  minor  peculiarities  of  sentiment  or  ex- 
pression. Writers  equally  intelligent  and  pious  may 
differ  in  these.  It  is  better  that  each  should  utter  his 
own  thought,  even  if  sometimes  inaccurate,  than  that  all 
individuality  should  be  destroyed  by  a  too  unsparing 
criticism. 


.jT  PIIXItCSTOII 

CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  p^g, 

INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS 6 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  WANTS  OF  OUR  SUNDAY-SCHOOLS 10 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  TRUE  OBJECT  OF   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  INSTRUCTION         ,  .        27 

CHAPTER  IV. 

QUALIFICATIONS   OF   THE    TEACHER.  —  FAITH    IN    CHRIST  AND 

SELF-CONSECRATION 40 

CHAPTER  V. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF    THE    TEACHER.  —  INTEREST    AND    PERSE- 
VERANCE  IN   THE   WORK,   AND   A  TRUE   LOVE   OF   SOULS  •        56 

CHAPTER  VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS   OF  THE   TEACHER.  —  CHRISTIAN    FAITH  AND 

HOPEFULNESS 75 

CHAPTER  VII. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF   THE    TEACHER.  —  MENTAL   ENDOWMENTS 

AND   SPECIAL  PREPARATION 92 

1* 


IT  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

DUTIES  OF  THE  TEACHER 118 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  PUPILS.  —  USE    OF  MANUALS,   &C.      .  .        133 

CHAPTER  X. 

ORDER  AND   SIETHOD.  —  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  LIBRARIES         .  .        146 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER        .  .  .  .        156 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  CHILD  TO  THE  CHURCH       .  .  .        169 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  STANDAP.D   OF   CHARACTER      ....        180 


THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


"  Fold  of  the  tender  Shepherd !  rise,  and  spread ! 
Arch  o'er  our  frailty  roofs  of  everlasting  strength ! 
Be  all  the  body  gathered  to  its  living  Head! 
Wanderers  we  faint;  0,  let  us  find  our  Lord  at  length! 


During  the  last  few  years,  observing  persons 
can  hardly  have  watched  with  any  degree  of  at- 
tention the  progress  of  events,  without  feeling 
that  great  and  important  changes  have  been  and 
still  are  taking  place  in  the  religious,  no  less  than 
in  the  social  and  political  world. 

More  silently,  unnoticed  by  the  common  ob- 
server it  may  be,  but  none  the  less  surely,  has  the 
old  order  of  things  been  passing  away ;  and  to 
the  earnest  seeker  there  are  significant  tokens 
prophetical  of  a  new  era  in  sects  and  parties  of 
the  Church. 

Ideals  of  a  better  and  higher  state,  longings 
for  a  more  Christ-like  life  and  a  more  spiritual 


6  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

union,  a  consciousness  that  creeds  and  dogmas 
have  too  often  usurped  the  place  of  an  inward 
faith  and  a  practical  piety,  that  disciples  have 
breathed  far  too  little  of  their  Master's  spirit  of 
love,  forbearance,  and  humility,  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  even  has  been  too  often  untrue  to  her 
noble  mission  and  high  calling,  — such  thoughts 
fill  at  times  every  reflecting  and  thoughtful  mind, 
and  prompt  the  earnest  question,  "  By  what 
means  is  a  higher  spiritual  life  to  be  attained  ? 
How  is  the  true  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom  to 
be  promoted  ?  " 

Look  into  our  Sabbath  schools,  regarded  now, 
and  for  many  years  past,  as  established  Christian 
institutions.  Acknowledging  freely  and  fully  all 
the  good  that  has  been  accomplished,  all  the  pure 
and  holy  influences  that  have  flowed  from  them, 
as  fruitful  sources  of  religious  instruction  and 
spiritual  life,  —  recalling,  too,  with  grateful  re- 
membrance, the  many  pure,  devoted,  and  conse- 
crated spirits  that  have  faithfully  labored  in  this 
portion  of  their  Master's  vineyard,  —  it  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  in  many  quarters  there  is  a  preva- 
lent dissatisfaction,  a  feeling  that  such  schools 
are  not  accomplishing  their  highest  ends. 

Progress,  indeed,  there  has  been  ;  but  has  the 
advance  been  commensurate  with  our  means, 
opportunities,  and  privileges  ?  Do  our  schools, 
as  now  conducted,  meet  the  deepest  wants  of  the 
youthful  spirit  ?  Does  the  young  heart  there  find 
that  bread  of  Life,  which  will  alone  satisfy  its 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  7 

cravings  amid  the  sterner  trials  of  maturer  years  ? 
Are  teachers  laboring  upon  the  right  principles, 
or  has  the  true  end  been  too  often  lost  sight  of 
in  mere  external  or  mechanical  forms  ?  Are  we 
to  rest  contentedly  where  we  are,  feel  that  no  on- 
ward steps  are  to  be  taken,  and  quietly  and 
inanely  yield  ourselves  to  the  force  of  surround- 
ing circumstances,  or  are  we  not  rather  to  make 
some  strenuous,  earnest  effort  to  seek  a  higher 
plane  of  action,  to  spiritualize  our  endeavors,  and 
to  render  our  schools  more  completely  Christian 
institutions  ? 

In  the  words  of  another,  "  There  is  among  men 
of  earnest  and  reverent  moods  a  pause  and  an 
expectation,  as  if  they  heard  a  divine  voice  just 
becoming  articulate  and  audible,  —  coming,  not 
out  of  the  old  creeds,  but  out  of  the  Divine 
Word,  and  out  of  the  most  interior  consciousness 
of  men,  and  prophesying  of  the  things  that  are 
yet  to  be." 

In  all  our  churches  there  are  young  hearts 
questioning  the  truth  of  the  dogmas  inculcated 
from  childhood,  and  earnestly  asking  the  mean- 
ing of  the  great  doctrines  of  man's  sinfulness 
and  redemption,  of  pardon,  salvation,  and  retri- 
bution. In  all  our  churches  there  are  souls  that 
earnestly  long  to  know  their  relations  to  Christ 
as  a  personal  Saviour,  —  that  ask  not  for  forms 
or  systems,  or  an  intellectual  belief,  but  for  Christ ; 
for  his  cross,  as  a  seal  of  their  own  acceptance ; 
for  his  death,  as  a  pledge  of  their  pardon. 


O  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Are  these  wants  truly  met  among  us?  Are 
they  always  even  fully  acknowledged  ?  Read 
the  words  and  ponder  the  deep  meaning  of  those 
expressions  applied  to  Christ,  both  by  himself 
and  his  Apostles,  marking  him  as  divine  in  his 
nature,  power,  and  authority,  and  then  say 
whether  it  be  sufficient  to  the  young  and  aspir- 
ing soul,  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteous- 
ness, longing  for  an  assurance  of  faith  and  hope, 
to  be  brought  to  him,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  as 
a  holy  teacher  and  guide  alone  ?  Is  there  not 
a  deeper  craving  of  the  soul,  which  cannot  and 
will  not  thus  be  satisfied  ? 

Go  into  any  of  our  larger  towns  or  cities  j 
explore  carefully  the  narrow  streets,  the  crowded 
houses,  the  lanes  and  cellars ;  see  the  iniquity 
and  sin,  the  ignorance,  degradation,  and  heathen- 
ism that  exist  under  the  very  shadow  of  our 
churches  and  schools,  and  will  not  the  question 
force  itself  upon  the  mind.  Are  these  indeed  Chris- 
tian communities  ? 

Do  we  not  need  some  new  power  at  work 
among  us,  —  some  voice  to  vitalize  the  dry  bones 
of  a  barren  and  self-sufficient  piety,  of  frigid 
naturalism,  of  unbelief  and  misbelief,  —  some 
prophet's  touch  to  rouse  the  dead  body  of  the 
Church  to  a  new  and  Christ-like  life  ? 

Do  we  not  need  some  new  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  a  renewed  and  quickened  faith 
in  the  power  and  efficacy  of  prayer  ?     Have  w^e 


OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  U 

a  vital,  practical  belief  in  the  promised  influences 
of  the  Spirit,  in  the  assurance  that  if  we  ask 
anything  according  to  the  Father's  will,  He  will 
hear  and  answer  the  petition  ? 

Abstractions,'  forms  and  creeds,  the  mere  in- 
culcation of  facts,  or  intellectual  teaching  alone, 
will  not  satisfy ;  and  individual  souls  are  ear- 
nestly looking  for  a  better  administration,  for 
some  nobler  and  higher  develppment  of  faith 
and  love. 

What  part,  then,  has  the  Sunday  school  to 
perform  in  meeting,  in  any  good  degree,  thftse 
wants  and  needs  ?  What  should  be  the  true  aim 
and  object  of  its  instructions  ?  How  are  its 
highest  ends  to  be  sustained  and  carried  out? 
How  is  it  to  be  rendered  an  efficient  co-worker 
with  the  Church,  in  the  regeneration  of  individual 
souls,  in  leading  young  hearts  to  Christ,  as  the 
only  sufficient,  the  divinely  appointed  Mediator 
and  Redeemer  ? 

Questions  such  as  these,  prompted  by  no  mo- 
mentary impulse  of  excitement  or  discourage- 
ment, but  proceeding  from  various  and  widely 
separated  quarters,  demand  the  due  considera- 
tion and  serious  reflection  of  every  individual  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  or  engaged 
in  the  sacred  calling  of  the  Christian  teacher. 

The  future,  and  the  future  alone,  can  and  will 
bear  true  and  enduring  witness,  whether  they  are 
now  faithfully  met  and  answered. 


10  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE    WANTS    OF    OUR    SUNDAY    SCHOOLS. 


"As  the  branch  canflot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the 
vine,  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me." 

"And  still  in  accents  sweet  and  strong, 
Sounds,  as  of  old,  the  word  : 
More  laborers  for  the  harvest,  now  ! 
More  reapers  for  the  Lord !  " 


The  present  state  of  our  Sunday  schools  in  dif- 
ferent denominations  may  be  regarded  under  two 
distinct  aspects.  The  general,  careless  observ- 
er, content  with  mere  outward  appearance,  and 
satisfied  with  statistical  results,  would  tell  us 
of  the  increased  number  of  such  institutions, 
of  the  multiplication  of  the  pupils,  the  books 
studied,  the  popularity  of  this  or  that  teacher, 
the  successful  annual  celebration,  and  the  ap- 
parent general  interest  manifested  in  the  con- 
cerns of  the  school.  He  would  congratulate  the 
pupils  upon  their  advantages,  tell  them  how 
much  greater  their  privileges  than  those  en- 
joyed by  preceding  generations,  and,  satisfied 
with    having    given    his    meed    of  praise,   rest 


OF    THE    CIIKI5TIAN    LIFE.  11 

contentedly  in  the  belief  that  little  more  is 
needed,  and  that  it  would  be  both  unwise  and 
unreasonable  to  expect  greater  or  more  definite 
results. 

To  the  observant  eye  and  thoughtful  mind, 
even  a  cursory  view  would  lead  to  a  far  different 
conclusion.  Accustomed  to  a  higher  stand-point, 
looking  beneath  the  mere  exterior  and  surface 
of  things,  he  would  find  abundant  food  for 
careful  investigation  and  serious  thought.  He 
would  see  wants  to  be  met,  defects  to  be  rem- 
edied, plans  to  be  reorganized,  a  living  sph'it 
to  be  infused,  and  a  nobler  and  higher  end  to 
be  achieved. 

Regardless  of  statistical  information  or  of  any 
reputed  worth,  he  would  compare  the  true  spirit 
of  these  institutions  with  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
and  acknowledge  their  actual  value  and  impor- 
tance just  so  far  as  they  breathed  the  spirit 
and  manifested  the  power  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

How,  then,  we  would  freely  ask,  can  our 
schools  be  rendered  more  conducive  to  their 
true  ends  ?  What  are  some  of  their  most 
prominent  wants  and  defects  ?  What  changes 
are  truly  and  pressingly  needed  among  us? 

First,  we  would  speak  of  the  time  usually 
set  apart  for  such  religious  instruction. 

The  greater  part  of  six  days  of  the  t\^eek  is 
devoted  by  the  pupils  of  our  Sabbath  schools 
2 


12  BEGINNING    AND    GKOWTH 

to  studies  of  a  secular  nature,  guided  by  those 
who  have  long  been  preparing  for  their  work, 
and  whose  whole  time  and  best  energies  are 
given  to  its  faithful  prosecution.  Why  should 
all  the  direct  religious  instruction  received  by 
them,  apart  from  religious  home  influences,  upon 
all  the  vast  themes  of  eternity  and  immortal- 
ity, be  confined  to  one  single  hour  of  the  Sab- 
bath ?  Even  then  the  teacher  sometimes  affirms 
that  "  the  school  has  been  too  long,  and  that 
the  pupils  are  weary  "  ! 

To  have  any  systematic,  definite  course  of 
instruction  pursued,  and  more  worthy  ends  ac- 
complished, the  school  should  not  be  crowded 
into  a  single  hour  of  the  Sabbath.  More  time 
should  be  sacredly  set  apart  for  it,  and  during 
that  portion  of  the  day  when  both  mind  and 
body  are  fresh  and  vigorous.  To  have  all  the  gen- 
eral exercises  of  the  school,  —  reading,  singing, 
often  some  address  from  the  pastor  or  superin- 
tendent, the  direct  instruction  in  the  classes,  the 
exchange  of  library  books,  &c.,  —  comprised  in  a 
single  hour,  seems  utterly  without  reason.  To 
pass  from  the  morning  service  at  church  to  the 
duties  of  the  school,  then  to  attend  a  second  ser- 
vice, and  perhaps  a  Bible  class,  once  a  month 
the  communion  service  intervening,  with  hardly 
a  half  hour's  intermission,  is  rendering  that  a 
mere  task-work,  and  often  a  mere  mechanical 
form,  which  demands  the  freshest  energies  and 


OF    THE    CHKISTIAN    LIFE.  13 

the  exercise  of  the  best  powers  of  the  soul.  In 
deed,  from  the  manner  of  some,  it  would  seem 
as  if  they  imagined  that  the  greater  the  amount 
of  such  labor  accomplished  on  the  Sabbath  the 
greater  the  merit,  forgetting  that  a  spiritual  wor- 
ship demands  a  spiritual  preparation,  and  that 
no  class  of  children,  however  young  or  ignorant, 
can  be  truly  instructed  and  interested  where 
there  is  a  conscious  mental  weariness  or  in- 
difference on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 

Whatever  the  amount  of  time  any  school 
may  see  fit  to  set  apart  for  religious  instruc- 
tion,—  and  this,  of  course,  must  somew^hat  vary 
with  different  places  and  different  customs  of 
society,  —  we  would  strongly  advocate  the  morn- 
ing  hours  during  the  year  being  sacredly  de- 
voted to  this  work. 

Let  at  least  an  hour  and  a  half  be  thus  se- 
cured, and  a  new  impulse,  we  doubt  not,  would 
be  given  to  the  efficiency  of  many  of  our  schools. 
Let  the  children  assemble  when  a  hurried  dinner 
is  just  over,  or  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon  ser- 
vice, and  it  requires  little  observation  to  mark 
the  difference  between  the  apparent  interest 
then  taken  in  the  exercises,  and  that  manifested 
during  the  fresh  morning  hour,  when  there  is  no 
weariness  or  listlessness.  "  What!  is  our  morn- 
ing school  to  be  closed  so  soon?"  exclaimed  a 
bright-eyed  little  girl  as  her  teacher  informed 
her  of  the  usual  change  of  hours  on  the  succeed- 


14  BEGI^^NING    AND    GROWTH 

ing  Sabbath.  "  I  know  I  have  a  long  walk  to 
take,  but  if  all  of  us  can  get  to  school  at  nine 
o'clock  on  week  days,  I  do  n't  see  why  we  can- 
not come  at  the  same  hour  on  Sundays  ;  our 
morning  schools  are  so  much  pleasanter ! " 

Might  not  such  an  end  be  attained  in  many 
instances,  and  punctuality  secured,  by  a  deeper 
interest  and  a  little  effort  on  the  part  of  parents, 
and  perchance  by  a  little  sacrifice  of  indulgence 
or  ease  on  the  part  of  teachers  ?  One  hour  of 
the  time  thus  set  apart  we  would  have  ex- 
clusively devoted  to  direct  instruction  in  the 
classes ;  the  remaining  portion  to  be  occupied 
by  prayer,  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  either 
by  the  superintendent  alone  or  alternately  with 
the  pupils,  accompanied  by  some  simple  expo- 
sition, singing,  and  occasionally  an  address  from 
the  pastor,  superintendent,  or  some  competent 
person. 

Next,  we  would  earnestly  and  solemnly  utter 
our  protest  against  the  tendency,  too  common, 
of  rendering  our  schools  mere  places  of  amuse- 
ment to  children.  Religious  instruction  should, 
indeed,  be  rendered  cheerful,  interesting,  and  at- 
tractive ;  but  to  degrade  religion  lYom  its  native 
dignity,  to  divest  it  of  its  eternal  importance 
and  solemnity,  in  order  to  excite  the  momen- 
tary smile  or  laugh  by  some  undignified  illustra- 
tion, or  a  mere  familiar,  off-hand  manner  of  ad- 
dress, or   to  occupy    the   limited  time  by   mere 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  15 

story-telling,  or  a  vague,  rambling  talk,  without 
point  or  force,  is  utterly  unworthy  the  sacred 
hours  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  object  of  the  school. 
No  one  should  ever  attempt  to  address  a  school 
unless  he  has  some  definite  idea  in  his  own  mind 
of  what  he  wishes  to  say,  and  then  his  w^ordt 
should  be  simple,  brief,  serious,  and  to  the  point 
Children  cannot  be  too  deeply  or  too  early  im 
pressed  with  the  solemn  revei'ence  due  to  all  thr 
themes  of  religion  ;  and  where  this  is  in  an^ 
measure  violated,  an  infinite  wrong  is  done  to 
the  cause  of  truth  and  holiness.  Were  those 
few  solemn  words  of  the  Saviour's,  "  God  is  u 
Spirit,  and  they  w^ho  w^orship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  ever  to  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  conduct  such  institutions, 
and  by  all  engaged  as  teachers,  —  were  they  to 
know  from  experience  what  is  meant  by 

"The  perfect  power  o^  godliness, 
The  omnipotence  of  love," 

we  believe  that  all  tendency  to  flippancy  and 
lightness,  ever  to  be  deprecated  by  every  serious 
mind,  w^ould  soon  disappear. 

"  The  effort,"  says  another,  "  sometimes  seems 
to  be,  not  so  much  to  lift  the  infant  spirit  up  to 
heaven,  as  to  draw  the  dread  majesty  of  heaven 
down  to  earth,  and  to  place  in  the  child's  mind 
an  entire  and  satisfying  image  of  the  unseen 
and  eternal  Jehovah.  It  is  deemed  not  enough 
that  he   should   worship,  —  he  must  thoroughly 


16  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

comprehend,  the  divine  nature  and  attributes.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  distinct  and 
satisfying  ideas  of  infancy  are  early  outgrown  ; 
and  if  the  idea  of  God  no  more  than  fills  the 
narrow  walls  of  the  infant  spirit,  it  will  not  grow 
with  the  growth  of  the  mind,  but  w^ill  soon  be 
outgrown  and  cast  into  contemptuous  oblivion. 
If  the  idea  of  unsearchableness  and  immensity 
be  sustained  in  the  child's  mind,  and  with  every 
new  stage  of  progress  the  feeling  be  impressed, 
*  Lo,  these  are  parts  of  his  ways,  but  how  little 
a  portion  is  heard  of  him,'  then  there  is  indefi- 
nite room  for  the  conception  of  God  to  expand 
with  the  growth  of  the  mind,  and  still  for  the 
devout  emotions  to  have  a  field  reaching  beyond 
that  of  clear  vision  and  distinct  thought,  far 
away  into  infinity." 

Let  religious  truths  be  rendered  attractive,  but 
attractive  through  their  own  innate  grandeur, 
dignity,  and  worth  ;  impressive,  through  their 
infinite  importance  and  solemn  message  to  the 
individual  soul.  Such  instructions,  and  such 
only,  do  we  need  ;  for  only  truths  thus  presented, 
ministering  to  the  highest  wants  and  deepest 
cravings  of  the  soul,  will  render  our  schools 
places  of  vital  religious  growth,  and  a  true  spir- 
itual nurture. 

The  devotional  exercises,  also,  should  be  such 
as  to  promote  this  same  feeling  of  reverence,  to 
quicken   faith,  and  to  deepen  and  strengthen  the 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  17 

love  of  prayer  in  the  hearts  of  the  pupils.  Wheth- 
er this  result  can  best  be  attained  by  the  use  of 
responses,  oi  otherwise,  the  true  and  ultimate 
end  is  one  and  the  same. 

In  whatever  outward  form  the  prayer  is  of- 
fered, its  language  should  be  at  once  reverential 
and  simple,  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  the  pu- 
pils, and  embodying  such  petitions  as  may  bear 
upon  their  peculiar  temptations,  wants,  and  spir- 
itual needs.  In  many  schools,  such  is  far  from 
being  the  case.  The  language  used  is  too  often 
entirely  above  their  comprehension,  and  the  pe- 
titions such  as  are  adapted  to  the  wants  of  an 
adult  congregation  rather  than  to  the  impulsive 
hearts  of  children.  They  understand  not  the 
words,  and,  as  a  natural  result,  feel  that  it  is  a 
mere  form,  belonging  to  the  teachers  rather  than 
to  themselves,  and  in  which  they  have  no  part  to 
take.  Often,  wearied  with  the  length  of  the  ex- 
ercise, they  become  restless  and  uneasy,  and 
prayer,  instead  of  being  regarded  as  a  holy  and 
delightful  privilege,  becomes  a  tedious  and  barren 
form.  In  adapting  the  words  of  the  prayer  to 
the  capacities  of  the  child,  it  is  not  necessary  in 
any  way  to  lessen  its  devout  reverence ;  —  for 
what  exercise  of  the  school  is  more  solemn  or  im- 
portant than  that  of  approaching  in  supplication 
Him  before  whom  the  very  heavens  are  not 
clean  ?  Let  the  petitions,  thanksgiving,  and 
praise,  the  supplication    for   strength  and    help, 


18  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

and  the  divine  blessing  through  the  Redeemer, 
be  brief,  concise,  and  heart-felt.  Let  them  be 
clothed  in  simple,  yet  always  in  the  most  rever- 
ential language,  and  let  one  of  the  first  lessons 
in  every  school  be,  to  impress  on  the  minds  of 
the  pupils  the  solemnity  of  this  portion  of  the 
service,  the  part  they  are  to  take  in  it,  and  the 
inestimable  privilege  of  being  thus  permitted,  in 
their  weakness  and  ignorance,  to  approach  the 
Father  of  all.  Brevity  is  of  all-essential  impor- 
tance in  this  service.  A  prayer  of  three  or  four 
minutes  is  far  more  impressive  than  one  of  ten, 
to  a  child ;  —  and  may  we  not  add,  to  the  teacher 
also? 

Where  the  peculiar  "  gift  of  prayer  "  is  want- 
ing in  superintendent  or  teacher,  so  that  he  can- 
not rely  upon  the  promptings  of  the  moment  to 
express  his  deepest  thoughts,  let  some  simple 
form  be  prepared,  to  which  he  may  always  turn 
for  assistance. 

What  is  wanting  more  than  all  is  the  true 
spirit  of  prayer,  —  a  personal  sense  of  dependence 
on  the  Saviour,  and  a  devout,  reverential  trust 
and  faith  in  the  Father.  Where  such  a  spirit 
exists,  the  general  prayer,  whether  it  be  in  the 
words  of  an  oft-repeated  form,  or  the  spontane- 
ous expression  of  the  moment,  simple,  confiding, 
and  child-like,  cannot  but  be  uttered  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  attract  and  fix  the  attention  of  the 
school. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  19 

As  this  exercise  is  now  conducted  in  many  of 
our  schools,  it  needs  no  keen  observation  to  see 
what  a  mere  ceremony  it  is  to  the  greater  part  of 
the  pupils.  The  baneful  influence  to  the  indi- 
vidual of  such  habits  of  inattention,  of  spiritual 
listlessness,  of  wandering  thoughts,  and  cold  ir- 
reverence, cannot  be  overestimated. 

A  decided  change  is  needed.  If  prayer  be  a 
divine  ordinance,  if  it  be  the  privilege  and  duty 
of  every  soul  to  approach  in  supplication  the 
Father  of  spirits,  to  bring  before  the  Eternal  its 
wants  and  desires,  fears  and  aspirations,  let  us 
have,  at  least  in  schools  dedicated  to  His  service 
and  bearing  the  Saviour's  name,  some  mode  of 
conducting  this  sacred  service  more  hallowed 
and  more  impressive.  No  matter  how  brief,  no 
matter  how  simple,  if  it  be  reverential,  devout, 
earnest,  and  sincere.  The  most  impressive  pray- 
ers in  which  we  have  ever  joined  in  any  school 
were  those  clothed  in  language  so  simple  that 
every  child  could  understand  their  meaning,  and 
yet  so  devout,  so  earnest,  so  solemn  and  impres- 
sive, that  a  feeling  of  awe  and  hushed  reverence 
stole  irresistibly  over  the  spirit,  as  it  felt  in  whose 
presence  it  stood. 

An  abundance  of  words,  a  repetition  of  phrases, 
or  numerous  subjects  of  entreaty,  are  not  needed 
to  give  force  and  impressiveness  to  this  act.  A 
few  brief  petitior.s  fervently  and  earnestly  uttered 
will  dwell  in  the  heart  when  a  lonsfer  form  would 


20  BEGINNING    AND    GIIOVVTH 

all  be  forgotten.  Spiritual  life  there  must  be,  or 
prayer  will  ever  become  a  mere  form  ;  spiritual 
earnestness  and  sincerity  there  must  be,  or  the 
petitions  oft'ered  will  all  be  devoid  of  meaning; 
spiritual  communion  with  the  Saviour  there  must 
be,  for  he  alone  leads  us  to  the  Father,  as  the 
Way,  Truth,  and  Life. 

There  is  still  another  want  in  our  schools, 
more  obvious  perhaps  to  the  general  eye,  and 
one  which  in  some  way  must  be  speedily  met 
and  remedied,  —  a  want  not  confined  to  any  one 
sect  or  denomination,  but  common  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  to  all ;  namely,  a  sufficient  number 
of  competent  teachers. 

Judging  in  the  abstract,  with  no  definite  knowl- 
edge or  personal  acquaintance  with  the  details 
of  the  system,  we  should  at  once  suppose  that 
wherever  a  Christian  congregation  was  gathered, 
there  would  be  found  an  abundant  supply  of  all 
the  materials  requisite  to  conduct  such  a  school, 
and  to  render  it  what  it  ever  should  be,  an  insti- 
tution for  the  Christian  nurture  of  children  and 
youth.  We  should  imagine  that  no  command 
of  the  Great  Shepherd  would  be  more  readily 
fulfilled,  than  that  of  faithfully  feeding  the  sheep 
and  lambs  of  his  flock  ;  of  seeking  to  bring  the 
ignorant,  the  degraded,  the  homeless,  and  the 
prodigal  into  his  sheltering  fold.  But  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  actual  and  existing  state  of  things 
leads  to  a  far  different  result.     Many  there  are 


OF    THE    CIIUrSTIAN    LIFE.  21 

earnestly,  faithfully,  and  sincerely  engaged  in 
this  work,  but  the  supply  of  willing,  able,  and 
competent  teachers  is  far  less  than  the  demand. 
What  proportion,  indeed,  do  the  teachers,  in 
most  of  our  schools,  bear  to  the  entire  adult  con- 
gregation, or  to  those  not  detained  by  more 
pressing  home  duties  from  taking  a  part  in  the 
work ;  and  of  that  proportion,  why  is  it  that  so 
few  are  from  the  busy  scenes  of  life,  —  those 
whose  position  and  calling  would  at  once  make 
their  influence  felt,  —  the  men  of  business  and 
education,  of  science  and  letters  ?  Is  the  em- 
ployment beneath  their  notice  ?  Is  it  simply 
a  matter  of  indifference,  or  do  they  really  doubt 
its  utility  and  efficiency  ? 

A  plea  of  unfitness  for  the  work,  or  of  want  of 
time,  is  seldom  a  sincere  excuse ;  for,  were  its 
importance  actually  felt,  those  alive  on  other 
subjects  to  their  individual  responsibility  would 
not  be  backward  in  seeking,  at  least,  to  prepare 
themselves  for  this  noble  vocation ;  and  want  of 
time  is  seldom  offered  as  an  excuse  in  any  world- 
ly calling,  where  pleasure,  or  gain,  or  preferment 
is  the  expected  reward. 

Go  into  almost  any  school,  and  you  will  find 
some  class  without  any  permanent  teacher ;  the 
more  advanced  pupils  often  asking  in  vain  for 
those  who  can  lead  them  on  in  their  studies,  and 
guide  their  inquiries,  and  help  their  examination 
of  the  truth. 


22  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Often  does  the  entire  superintendence  of  the 
school  devolve  on  the  pastor,  whose  duties  in 
the  pulpit  exhaust  his  energies,  and  tax  his 
powers,  and  who  ought  never  to  feel  obliged  to 
undertake  these  additional  services  on  the  Sab- 
bath, however  much  his  heart  may  be  in  th 
work. 

"  What  am  I  to  do  ?  "  said  the  faithful  and  de- 
voted minister  of  one  of  our  largest  congrega- 
tions, not  long  since.  "  Our  valued  superintend- 
ent removed  from  the  city  some  months  ago,  and 
there  is  not  a  single  individual  in  my  parish  upon 
whom  I  can  call  to  fill  the  vacancy.  True,  there 
are  some  who  would  gladly  seek  this  somewhat 
public  post,  but  who  are  utterly  unfitted  for  its 
duties ;  and  those  who  seem  capable  of  taking 
such  a  position  are  unwilling.  What,  then,  can 
I  do  ?  Either  the  school  must  be  closed,  or  I 
must  'be  present  to  conduct  its  general  exercises, 
besides  having  the  instruction  of  a  Bible  class 
of  young  men.  I  shall  continue  these  labors," 
he  added,  "  so  long  as  health  and  strength  are 
granted,  but  if  these  fail,  the  school  must  seek 
some  other  support." 

Is  there  not  something  radically  wrong  wher- 
ever this  state  of  things  exists  ?  Is  the  pastor  of 
the  church  the  only  one  to  offer  the  social  prayer, 
and  break  the  bread  of  life  to  his  youthful  flock? 
Ought  he  to  be  the  only  on.e  capable  of  instruct- 
ing the  inquiring  minds  of  those  advancing  to 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  23 

maturer  years,  and  of  leading  them  on  to  the 
higher  phases  of  religious  truth  ?  Is  there  not  a 
half-acknowledged  feeling  among  many,  and 
especially  among  men  of  business,  that  this 
work  belongs  only  to  the  stated  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  or  to  a  chosen  and  retired  few,  —  that 
they  have  no  responsibility  with  regard  to  it,  — 
or  that  if  they  give  pecuniary  aid  to  the  support 
of  Christian  institutions,  they  are  wholly  excused 
from  giving  what  is  of  greater  importance,  their 
personal  influence,  example,  and  effort? 

Will  the  fidelity  of  one,  or  of  a  few,  excuse  the 
indifference  or  negligence  of  the  many  ?  Had 
each  individual  statedly  worshipping  in  our 
churches,  and  thus  acknowledging,  in  outward 
form  at  least,  his  belief  in  Christ,  sought  faith- 
fully to  fulfil  his  own  part  in  spreading  the 
knowledge  of  a  Saviour,  would  there  be  the 
heathenism  that  now  exists  beneath  the  very 
shadows  of  our  churches  and  our  homes  ?  Do 
such  reply,  that  little  good  comes  of  this  instruc- 
tion, and  that  they  can  accomplish  nothing  in 
this  cause  ? 

Let  them  look  to  the  noble  examples  of  those 
Christian  men,  whose  patient  perseverance,  ear- 
nest effort,  and  devoted  fidelity,  have  accom- 
plished so  much  in  rendering  our  schools  in  some 
degree  what  they  should  be, —  men,  not  only 
faithful  in  the  private  walks  of  life,  but  taking  a 
foremost  part  in  all  that  concerns  the  public  good, 


24  BEGINNING    AND    GIIOWTH 

active  in  business,  interested  in  the  higher  put 
suits  of  literature,  and  yet  always  finding  time 
to  prepare  themselves  for  the  humblest  duties  of 
instruction,  and  entering  into  all  the  details  of 
school  duties  with  as  much  interest  and  zeal  as 
if  these  constituted  their  sole  employment. 

Thankfully  do  we  acknowledge  the  influence 
of  all  such  now  laboring  in  the  field ;  and  with 
gratitude  would  we  remember  those  passed 
within  the  veil,  but  whose  spiritual  influence  still 
dwells  among  us,  and  whose  prayers  and  inter- 
cessions are  still  poured  forth  in  behalf  of  a  work 
so  dear  to  them  while  here.  Their  memories 
will  long  be  cherished  in  grateful  and  loving 
hearts;  and  whose  but  the  All-seeing  Eye  can 
measure  the  extent  of  their  Christian  influence 
and  trusting  faith  ? 

No :  the  Gospel  offers  no  license  to  any  class  of 
men,  or  any  individuals,  to  throw  off"  their  per- 
sonal responsibilities  on  others.  Each  one  must 
give  account  of  himself  unto  God.  Every  dis- 
ciple of  Christ  is  called  on  to  labor  in  some 
way  in  his  vineyard,  to  aid  in  gathering  in  the 
harvest,  waiting  only  for  the  faithful  reapers, — 
for,  "inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  the  least  of 
these,  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  not  to  me." 

We  repeat,  our  schools  demand  more  and 
better  qualified  teachers,  if  they  are  to  be  per- 
manently sustained,  —  if  they  are  truly  to  be 
co-workers  with  the   Church  in  the  regeneration 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  25 

of  individual  souls.  Systematic,  regular,  and 
thorough  instruction  is  needed  ;  and  to  facilitate 
this  end,  we  also  pressingly  need  a  higher  order 
of  manuals,  and  better  works  of  illustration  than 
are  now  generally  used  among  us.  We  are 
aware  that  this  want  has  been  partially  met  by 
works  published  within  the  last  two  years,  but 
still  it  is  far  from  being  fully  supplied.  And 
what  field  of  labor  more  useful  and  more  invit- 
ing than  this,  —  demanding  a  practical  experience 
in  the  office  of  teaching,  united  with  the  requi- 
site intellectual  and  spiritual  qualifications  ? 

Again  and  again  are  the  questions  asked,  How 
is  the  interest  of  the  older  pupils  to  be  sustained  ? 
How  are  young  men,  especially,  to  be  retained 
under  our  influence,  and  at  the  very  age  w^hen 
they  most  need  the  restraining  power  of  Chris- 
tian institutions  and  Christian  example?  What 
means  should  be  taken  to  bring  the  poorer  and 
more  ignorant  classes  of  children  under  the  in- 
fluence of  our  best  schools,  and  how  may  regu-. 
larity  of  attendance  and  a  true  interest  be  secured 
among  such  ? 

Many  and  various  are  the  answers  that  might 
be  given  to  these  questions.  If  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  faithful  and  competent  teachers  were  pro- 
vided for  every  such  institution,  other  difficul- 
ties would  soon  be  overcome.  In  what  the  neces- 
sary qualifications  consist  we  shall  hereafter  con- 
sider; in  this  chapter  we  have  designed  only  to 


26  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

refer  to  the  more  prominent  wants  and  defects 
of  our  schoolrj. 

In  speaking  of  these  wants,  we  would  not  be 
unmindful  of  the  good  hitherto  accomplished  by 
means  of  this  agency,  of  the  quickening  and 
holy  influences  that  ever  react  on  the  teacher's 
own  soul,  where  the  duty  of  instruction  is  under- 
taken with  any  vital  feeling  of  its  solemn  and 
deep  importance.  We  would  remember  those 
who  have  been  rescued  from  lives  of  sin  and 
ignominy,  the  many  hearts  that  have  been  led  to 
a  deeper  faith,  a  purer  love,  and  a  more  spiritual 
w^alk  and  life  through  the  simple,  earnest  words 
spoken  from  week  to  week  by  some  faithful 
teacher,  often  unconscious  how  deeply  his  own 
spirit  was  impressing  the  youthful  mind,  ap- 
parently so  thoughtless  and  unconcerned. 

Fully  and  freely  acknowledging  the  good,  the 
question  still  recurs.  Are  our  Sabbath  schools  all 
that  they  ought  to  be  ?  Are  they  fulfilling  their 
highest  and  only  true  end  ?  Are  they,  in  truth, 
living  branches  of  the  one  true  Vine  ? 


OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  27 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE  TRUE  OBJECT  OF  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  INSTRUCTION. 


"  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  bv  me." 


When  a  teacher  enters  upon  his  duties,  and 
voluntarily  assumes  the  responsibilities  of  a  spir- 
itual guide  and  instructor  of  others,  he  has,  or  at 
least  he  ought  to  have,  some  definite  idea  of 
the  objects  to  be  attained,  and  of  the  means 
by  which  such  ends  may  be  accomplished. 

The  first,  most  important,  and  all-essential 
questions  for  him  to  ask  himself,  whether  he 
has  these  duties  in  contemplation  only,  or  has 
long  been  engaged  in  the  work,  are  these : 
What  aim  am  I  to  keep  steadily  in  view  ?  What 
should  be  the  true  object  of  my  instruction  and 
influence  ?  Is  it  to  implant  religious  knowledge 
only  in  the  minds  of  those  committed  to  my 
care,  or  to  achieve  still  more  the  higher  end  of 
awakening  in  their  souls  a  spiritual  life,  a  per- 
sonal love  to  the  Saviour,  and  a  profound  indi- 
3* 


28  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

vidual  trust  and  faith  in  the  univevsal  Father? 
Is  it  sufficient  that  I  make  a  faithful  intellectual 
preparation  for  my  work,  —  make  myself  ac- 
quainted with  its  various  details,  and  become  fa- 
miliar with  its  facts  of  geography,  history,  and 
chronology,  —  or  is  there  not  imperative  a  high- 
er spiritual  preparation,  by  which  alone  I  can 
speak  to  the  hearts  of  those  under  my  care  ? 

To  impart  religious  knowledge  alone  to  the 
mind  of  the  child  we  deem  of  unspeakable  im- 
portance ;  to  make  him  clearly  and  definitely  ac- 
quainted with  the  great  facts  and  truths  of  relig- 
ion, and  with  the  foundation  on  which  those  truths 
rest,  is  doing  a  work  which,  accompanied  by  the 
divine  blessing,  may  be  sanctified  to  his  eternal 
salvation.  If  such  teaching  be  regular,  syste- 
matic, and  thorough,  its  importance  cannot 
be  over-estimated,  for  it  is  the  best  safeguard 
against  superstition,  and  the  foundation  of  all 
free,  personal  inquiry  and  conviction. 

The  simple  hymns  of  childhood,  and  the  verses 
of  Scripture  faithfully  committed  to  memory, 
even  when  imperfectly  understood,  will  often 
recur  to  the  mind  in  after  years,  and  repeat 
their  lessons  of  warning,  encouragement,  and 
hope,  in  tones  that  will  not  and  cannot  be  re- 
sisted. Amid  scenes  of  pleasure  and  gayety,  or 
of  trial  and  grief,  amid  the  festive  throng,  or  in 
the  hushed  and  darkened  chamber  of  illness,  in 
hours    of   stern  temptation   and   bitter  conflict, 


OF    THE    CIIIIISTIAN    LIFE.  29 

when  manly  strength  is  weakened,  and  the 
pride  of  human  power  laid  low,  or  in  the  calm 
and  quiet  hour  of  repose,  when  the  spirit  of 
God  moves  over  the  soul,  and  says  to  every 
unholy  passion,  "  Peace,  be  still "  ;  then  will 
these  words  of  truth  often  return  with  irresist- 
ible power,  and  become  the  medium  by  which 
the  Spirit  speaks  to  the  soul,  ever  repeating 
these  blessed  words  of  encouragement  and  en- 
treaty,  "  Whosoever  will,  let    him  freely  come." 

We  repeat,  the  importance  of  imparting  relig- 
ious knowledge,  if  the  teacher  be  thoroughly 
and  faithfully  fitted  for  his  work,  cannot  be 
over-estimated.  Take  a  child  from  a  home  of 
misery  and  sin,  of  ignorance  and  degradation, 
bring  him  under  the  influence  of  a  well-regu- 
lated and  orderly  school,  and  if  he  only  learns 
to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  simple 
words,  "  Thou  God  seest  me,"  it  will  not  have 
been  wholly  in  vain.  Some  spiritual  power  will 
be  quickened,  some  dormant  feeling  aroused, 
some  higher  purpose  enkindled.  The  very  words, 
"  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven,"  will  at  some 
time  awaken  an  inquiring  thought,  and  a  de- 
sire to  learn  of  that  paternal  love  and  that 
higher  spiritual  state  of  which  as  yet  he  knows 
nothing. 

Ought  the  teacher  to  be  content  with  a  mere 
mechanical  recitation,  or  even  with  a  faithful, 
interesting,  intellectual  discussion  of  the  same? 


30  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Does  his  duty  consist  wholly  or  chiefly  in  im- 
parting facts  and  scriptural  knowledge  to  the 
young  and  inquiring  mind  ?  Will  intellectual 
truths  alone  ever  lead  the  soul  to  a  true  self- 
knowledge,  to  feel  its  weakness  and  sin,  and  its 
need  of  pardon  through  the  Saviour  ? 

Whatever  may  have  been  accomplished  by 
such  teaching,  we  feel  more  and  more  con- 
vinced that  if  any  school  possesses  a  vital, 
real,  religious  worth,  efficiency,  and  power,  it  is 
just  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  true  spir- 
itual faith  and  life  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
pupils  by  the  individual  teachers. 

To  awaken  the  spiritual  life  in  another  soul, 
to  rouse  the  dormant  affections  and  lead  them 
to  God,  to  persuade  the  spirit  to  feel  its  per- 
sonal indebtedness  to  Christ  as  a  Saviour,  to 
kindle  within  it  a  deep  sense  of  its  need  of 
divine  renewal,  and  of  pardon  and  salvation 
through  a  crucified  Redeemer,  —  these  are  the 
highest,  the  noblest  aims,  such  as  are  alone  wor- 
thy the  Christian  teacher,  and  without  which  he 
ought  never  to  assume  such  responsibilities. 

The  simple  facts  of  Gospel  truth  are  compar- 
ativehj  easy  to  teach,  and  here  too  many  rest 
satisfied.  Will  such  teaching  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient in  that  hour  when  we  are  called  upon  in 
the  Master's  nearer  presence  to  render  up  an 
account  of  the  souls  committed  to  our  charge? 
No :  there  must  first  be  in  the  heart  the  fire  of 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  31 

devotion  kindled  from  the  secret  altar,  the  real- 
izing sense  of  divine  things,  the  consciousness 
of  addressing  immortal  spirits,  if  our  words  are 
to  have  any  vital  efficacy.  Intellectual  teaching, 
and  the  storing  of  the  mind  with  religious  facts 
and  truths,  is  all-important  in  its  place ;  but 
this  alone  never  touches  the  heart,  never  calls 
forth  the  warm  emotion,  the  grateful  prayer,  the 
repentant  sigh.  Soul  must  speak  to  soul.  The 
child  quickly  and  intuitively  perceives  when  the 
whole  heart  is  interested,  and  if  this  is  wanting, 
truth,  however  divine,  will  fall  cold  and  lifeless 
from  his  teacher's  lips. 

How  many  pupils  are  there  who  could  relate 
accurately  all  the  leading  facts  of  the  Gospel 
history  I  but  is  there  a  corresponding  heart- 
knowledge,  an  interest  in  divine  truths  as  a  per- 
sonal concern,  vitally  affecting  the  whole  im- 
mortal being  and  destiny  ?  And  to  how  many 
in  our  schools,  and  in  our  churches,  alas!  is 
Christ  only  a  dim,  -unreal  abstraction  of  the 
Bible,  with  no  reality  and  no  vital  power !  Why 
is  it  that  comparatively  few,  as  they  leave  our 
schools,  especially  young  men,  take  any  active 
part  in  the  support  of  religious  institutions,  or 
feel  any  strong  attachment  to  the  Church  ;  —  and 
that,  during  the  very  season  of  life  when  the 
soul  most  needs  divine  support  and  guidance, 
the  feelings  of  self-reliance  and  self-confidence 
are  so  prevalent  and  strong? 


32  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Whateiver  may  have  been  the  deficiencies  of 
home  educat'on,  is  not  the  evil  to  be  ascribed, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  the  instructions  imparted 
in  our  Sabbath  schools  ?  Must  not  the  young 
be  led  to  a  holier  self-consecration,  to  a  deeper 
sense  of  the  vital  importance  of  religious  truth, 
to  a  quickening  consciousness  of  the  worth  of 
the  soul,  if  we  would  have  them  in  after  years 
living  pillars  of  the  Church  of  Christ  ?  •  Must 
they  not  be  led  to  accept  of  Jesus  as  their 
Saviour  in  early  youth,  if  in  maturer  years  the 
soul  would  lay  its  purest  offering  of  consecra- 
tion and  gratitude  on  the  sacred  altar  of  com- 
memoration ? 

This  leads  us  to  consider  another  defect  in 
much  of  the  teaching  of  the  present  day,  and 
one  which  is  most  radical  and  vital.  We  refer 
to  the  manner  in  which,  by  many,  Christ  is  pre- 
sented to  the  mind  of  the  child.  He  is  taught 
to  look  upon  this  pure  and  holy  being  as  one 
whose  example  he  is  to  imitate,  whose  teach- 
ings he  is  to  obey,  whose  benevolent  and  loving 
life  he  is  to  follow  in  his  walk  among  men,  ■ —  in 
a  word,  as  his  Teacher  and  Guide  alone;  but 
the  idea  of  Christ  as  his  Saviour,  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  weakness  and  sin  of  his  own  heart, 
of  his  individual  need  of  regeneration  and  sal- 
vation, and  hope  of  happiness  through  the  sole 
tnediation  of  Christ,  —  these  are  views  by  many 
wholly  excluded  in  the  religious  instruction  of 
the  young. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  33 

The  solemn  words  of  Christ  with  regard  to 
the  resurrection  of  the  evil  as  well  as  the  good, 
his  representations  of  the  sufferings  of  the  im- 
penitent, and  of  the  ruin  and  loss  of  the  soul 
save  through  humble  penitence  and  a  living  faith 
in  him,  are  too  often  left  in  the  background ; 
while  representations  of  God's  mercy,  and  of  the 
greatness  and  dignity  of  human  nature,  are  re- 
garded as  alone  sufficient  for  the  regeneration  of 
the  soul.  In  such  teachings,  is  not  a  grievous 
wrong  done  to  the  mind  of  the  child  ?  Are  we 
not  substituting  a  superficial,  sentimental  piety, 
for  the  brave,  whole-souled,  hearty  consecration 
of  the  whole  spirit  ? 

Were  the  teacher  aware  of  the  doubt  and 
mental  trials  he  is  preparing  for  his  pupil  in  after 
years,  if  he  be  one  of  any  brightness  of  intellect 
or  quickness  of  moral  perceptions,  by  such  par- 
tial representations  of  the  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
we  believe  that,  if  unaccustomed  to  mental  re- 
search or  studious  inquiry,  he  would  pause  and 
ponder,  and  consider  with  earnest  thought  the 
truth  of  his  teachings  in  their  whole  bearing,  ere 
writing  them  out  in  ineffaceable  lines  on  the  sus- 
ceptible heart  of  childhood. 

We  need  to  have  truths  presented  honestly 
and  fairly ;  to  have  sin,  of  whatever  form,  called 
sin,  in  all  its  native  deformity  and  evil ;  to  have 
the  inevitable  suffering  and  punishment  of  sin 
solemnly  and  faithfully  set  forth ;  and  the  hope 


84  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

of  pardon  brought  home  to  the  soul,  as  dependent 
on  the  free  mercy  of  God  revealed  in  Christ,  as 
the  only  Saviour  of  men.  We  need  to  have  the 
necessity  of  the  new  birth,  —  of  the  conversion 
and  regeneration  of  the  soul  from  sin  to  holiness, 
—  taught  as  an  essential  truth  of  the  Gospel  to 
every  individual,  and  not  to  let  the  abundant 
mercy  and  goodness  of  God  be  so  abused  as  to 
leave  out  of  sight  his  equally  divine  attributes 
of  holiness  and  justice ;  but,  through,  the  clear, 
full  representation  of  these,  to  have  the  soul  led 
to  him,  through  Christ  as  the  Saviour  who  can 
redeem  it  from  the  power  of  sin  ;  as  the  Saviour 
who  gives  the  assurance  of  future  happiness  and 
eternal  life  to  the  regenerate  spirit  as  indeed  the 
very  gift  of  God,  —  Christ,  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God  ;  the  only"  name  under  heav- 
en, given  among  men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved. 

"  '  Thou  must  be  born  again  ! ' 
Such  was  the  solemn  word 
To  him  who  came,  not  all  in  vain, 
By  night  to  seek  his  Lord. 

"  '  Thou  must  be  born  again  ! ' 
But  not  the  birth  of  clay  ; 
The  immortal  seed  must  thence  obtain 
Deliverance  unto  day. 

"  Thou  canst  not  choose  but  trace 
The  steps  thy  Master  trod, 
If  once  thou  feel  his  truth  and  grace, 
A  conscious  child  of  God." 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  85 

Feeling  this  truth,  and  conscious  of  the  divine 
help  and  blessing,  let  the  teacher  go  to  his  work 
in  the  spirit  of  faith  and  of  prayer.  Let  him 
converse  judiciously,  yet  freely,  with  his  pupils 
on  their  personal  religious  concerns,  teaching 
them  the  necessity  of  a  new  birth,  of  their  weak- 
ness and  helplessness  without  divine  aid,  of  the 
certainty  of  a  righteous  retribution,  and  thus 
leading  them  to  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour. 
Let  him  teach  them,  through  his  own  life-giving 
spirit,  that,  however  young,  they  have  a  part  in 
the  promises  and  hopes  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  nev- 
er let  him  rest  satisfied  with  listening  merely  to 
a  recitation,  o.r  teaching  mere  facts.  Such  a  Sab- 
bath hour,  if  not  lost,  is  far,  very  far,  from  ac- 
complishing its  highest  end. 

Immortal  spirits  are  before  you,  —  spirits  with 
earnest  aspirations,  longing  desires,  strong  pas- 
sions, and  warm  affections,  —  spirits  capable  of 
rising  to  an  archangel's  glory,  or  of  sinking  into 
degradation,  misery,  and  spiritual  death. 

Have  you  no  direct,  earnest. message  to  such? 
No  word  of  personal  appeal,  of  gentle  sympathy 
and  encouragement,  or  of  solemn  warning  ? 
Living  now  in  eternity,  with  the  solemnities  of 
being  for  ever  encompassing  you,  must  your 
lips  be  sealed  upon  the  most  momentous  of  all 
themes,  those  which  directly  affect  the  eternal, 
immortal  destiny  ©f  those  under  your  care  ? 

How  much  might  be  gained  by  this  free  com- 
4 


36  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

muiiion  of  soul  with  soul,  especially  among  the 
older  pupils  !  It  is  no  longer  the  sometimes  cold 
and  mere  mechanical  relation  of  teacher  and  pu- 
pil, but  immortal  spirits  pressing  on  to  the  same 
heavenly  goal ! 

Pressingly  and  deeply  do  we  need  in  all  our 
schools  the  life  of  religious  sensibility,  a  faith 
that  trusts  in  God,  a  realizing  sense  of  depend- 
ence on  the  Saviour,  a  felt  reality  in  things  invis- 
ible. We  need  to  have  truths  brought  home  to 
the  heart,  baptized  in  the  living  light  of  the  Gos- 
pel, sanctified  by  the  influences  of  the  Spirit. 
The  mere  outward  form  of  the  lesson,  important 
as  it  is,  sinks  into  comparative  insignificance, 
when  this  one  great  end  of  all  religious  teaching 
is  inwardly  recognized, — to  labor  for  the  regen- 
eration and  salvation  of  immortal  souls. 

Such  aims,  and  such  alone,  are  worthy  of  our 
Sabbath  schools,  or  of  any  mode  of  religious 
teaching ;  and  such  alone,  kept  steadily  and  con- 
stantly in  view,  will  render  them  efficient  means 
of  usefulness,  —  schools  of  a  noble,  true,  and  ele- 
vated Christian  nurture. 

In  the  deeply  interesting  memoir  of  the  late  Dr. 
Judson, —  that  devoted  missionary  of  the  cross, 
whose  labors,  sufferings,  and  entire  self-consecra- 
tion to  his  Master's  service  have  given  him  a 
name  worthy  to  be  ranked  among  the  noblest 
and  most  faithful  of  the  followers  of  Christ  in 
any  age,  —  we  find  the  following  passage,  which 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  37 

affords  a  key  to  the  secret  of  his  ultimate  success 
and  influence,  whether  among  Barmans,  Karens, 
or  Hindoos. 

"  He  always  kept  one  object  steadily  in  view, 
to  the  exclusion  of  every  other.  It  was,  not  to 
teach  men  a  creed,  or  to  train  them  to  the  per- 
formance of  certain  rites,  or  to  persuade  them  to 
belong  to  a  particular  church,  but,  first  of  all,  to 
produce  in  them  a  radical  change  of  moral  char- 
acter, to  lead  them  to  repent  of  and  forsake  all 
sin,  to  love  God  with  an  affection  that  should 
transcend  in  power  every  other  motive,  and  to 

rely  for  salvation  on  faith  in  Christ It 

was  by  embracing  every  opportunity  which  his 
intercourse  with  men  presented  to  tell  them  of 
the  love  of  Christ,  of  their  danger  and  their  duty, 
and  to  urge  them,  in  Christ's  stead,  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God." 

Keeping  this  one  aim  distinctly  in  view,  de- 
voting to  it  the  whole  energy  of  a  strong  and 
controlling  will,  pursuing  it  with  indomitable 
fixedness  of  purpose,  never  allowing  himself  to 
be  turned  aside  by  any  temptations  to  ease,  by 
the  most  fearful  personal  suffering,  or  even  by 
the  allurements  of  society  or  literary  enjoyment, 
resolutely,  firmly,  and  prayerfully  he  pursued  this 
high  calling,  —  to  reclaim  the  ignorant  arid  the 
wandering,  and  to  make  known  to  them  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ. 

Is  it  said  that  these  representations  of  the  true 


38  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

aim  and  object  of  Sunday-school  instruction  as 
have  here  been  given  present  a  standard  alto- 
gether too  high,  and  such  as  would  repel  many 
who  might  otherwise  be  induced  to  enter  into 
its  labors  ?  Far  indeed  be  it  from  us  to  say  any- 
thing, here  or  anywhere,  that  would  repel  one 
true  desire,  discourage  one  sincere  purpose,  or 
repress  one  single  effort  to  do  good  in  any  form. 
"  He  that  is  not  against  us  is  for  us,"  were  the 
words  of  the  one  chief  Shepherd  ;  but  he  also 
added,  "  He  that  gathereth  not  with  me,  scatter- 
eth  abroad."  We  do  not  believe  that  a  deter- 
minate aim  and  a  lofty  standard,  to  any  brave, 
resolute,  aspiring  soul,  will  ever  prove  discour- 
aging. There  is  always  something  fascinating, 
as  well  as  noble  and  Christian,  in  keeping  such 
a  standard  in  view.  A  true  knowledge  of  the 
deepest  wants,  as  well  as  of  the  highest  aspira- 
tions, of  the  human  soul  is  revealed  in  those 
words  of  the  Saviour  :  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as 
your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect." 

"  We  cannot  be  too  rich  in  faith, 

We  cannot  be  too  strong  of  wing ; 
Thyself,  —  thyself  thou  offerest 
To  our  subhme  endeavoring." 

What  but  such  an  aim,  and  such  a  lofty  stand- 
ard, and  such  a  working  faith,  sustained  the 
glowing  enthusiasm  and  earnestness  of  Paul, 
leading  him  to  brave  undauntedly  persecution, 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  39 

suffering,  and  death,  the  scoffs  of  rulers  and  the 
indignities  of  the  multitude,  so  that  he  might 
win  souls  to  Christ?  What  but  this  can  sustain 
the  heart  and  quicken  the  faithful  zeal  of  any 
true  Christian  teacher,  however  humble  his  du- 
ties may  seem  to  the  world's  eye  ? 

Give  us  this,  and  other  defects  will  soon  be 
remedied.  Give  us  this,  and  there  will  be  vital- 
ity and  power  where  now  there  is  deadness  and 
indifference.  Give  us  such  aims,  such  a  spirit, 
such  a  life,  in  any  school,  or  any  band  of  teach- 
ers,—  nay,  in  any  one  teacher,  —  and  it  will  tell 
on  the  open  and  yielding  heart  of  childhood, 
"with  a  benignity  of  influehce,  of  such  holy 
and  regenerative  power,  as  no  reach  of  vision, 
save  that  prophetic  eye  that  looks  into  the  im- 
mortal ages,  can  measure." 


40  BEGINNING    ANt)    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    IV. 

QUALIFICATIONS     OF     THE     TEACHER.  FAITH     IN 

CHRIST    AND    SELF-CONSECRATION. 


"  A  Ihnng  faith  in  Christ  implies  an  immediate,  conscious,  personal 
relation." 

"  Our  blest  Redeemer,  ere  he  breathed 
His  tender,  last  farewell, 
A  Guide,  a  Comforter  bequeathed 
With  us  to  dwell. 

"  He  came  sweet  influence  to  impart, 
A  gracious,  willing  guest, 
While  he  can  find  one  humble  heart 
Wherein  to  rest. 

"  And  every  virtue  we  possess, 
And  every  victory  won, 
And  every  thought  of  holiness. 
Are  his  alone." 


Having  spoken  of  the  true  at  1  definite  aim 
which  every  teacher  should  keep  constantly  in 
view,  the  question  naturally  suggests  itself, 
"  Who  are  fitted  to  fill  this  office  ?  What 
qualifications  are  essential  to  form  a  successful 
teacher  of  religious  truths  ?  Are  high  attain- 
ments and  a  mature  religious  experience  neces- 


OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  41 

sary,  ere  one  assumes  this  office  ?  What  per- 
sonal traits  of  character  are  requisite  to  render 
one  a  true  and  faithful  guide  to  the  young  and 
inexperienced  ?  " 

We  would  answer,  in  general  terms,  that  but 
one  thing  is  absolutely  essential,  for  where  this 
exists,  all  else  will  follow  naturally  and  in  its 
due  time ;  namely,  the  self- consecration  of  the  soul 
to  God  through  Christ.  Let  there  only  be  this  one 
purpose,  this  one  sincere  desire,  to  love  and  obey 
God,  to  follow  Christ  in  heart  and  in  life,  to  be 
his  earnest,  true,  and  faithful  disciple,  and  how- 
ever young,  however  inexperienced,  the  soul  thus 
consecrated  cannot  but  exert  a  power  that  will 
diffuse  its  own  silent  and  secret  influence  over 
other  spirits.  It  may  make  no  pretensions,  utter 
no  formal  words  of  piety,  never  intrude  its  con- 
victions at  unseasonable  times  or  places,  but  its 
power  will  be  felt  and  known.  It  can  no  more 
conceal  the  true  source  of  its  hidden  life  and 
light  than  the  sun  'can  hide  its  beams  at  noon- 
day. It  may  imagine  its  own  sphere  too  narrow 
and  too  limited  to  attract  any  notice  from  others, 
or  it  may  go  on  in  the  regular  and  faithful  per- 
formance of  daily  duty,  and,  like  Mrs.  Ware,  be 
all  unmindful  of  the  mighty  influence  exerted 
over  thousands  of  other  souls,  so  quietly,  so  un- 
consciously, and  yet  so  trustingly,  had  the  work 
been  wrought.  The  power  is  there^  the  attrac- 
tion which  binds  the  soul  to  Christ  is  felt^  and 


42  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

where  more  readily  than  by  the  loving  heart  of 
childhood  ?  We  may  see  the  thousand  imper- 
fections of  others,  we  may  doubt  the  efficacy  of 
their  teachings  and  question  their  influence,  but 
if  the  love  of  Christ  be  in  the  soul  a  potent 
spring  of  action,  if  its  ruling  desire  be  to  mani- 
fest its  heart-felt  gratitude  by  a  life  of  obedience, 
if  its  prevailing  purpose  be  to  draw  nearer  and 
nearer  in  a  heart-union  with  Him,  that  desire  and 
that  purpose  will  touch  the  hearts  of  the  young 
and  untried,  and  will  kindle  holier  feelings,  and 
purer  affections,  and  warmer  aspirations.  The 
Saviour  sent  forth  his  early  Apostles  to  labor  in 
his  vineyard,  not  as  those  who  were  perfect  in 
spirit,  but  as  those  who  loved  him  above  all  hu- 
man friends,  and  were  ready  to  relinquish  all  to 
do  his  will.  When  we  witness  the  mighty  influ- 
ence of  their  simple  and  earnest  appeals,  when 
we  hear  them  speaking  as  with  tongues  of  fire, 
and  see  the  thousands  converted  in  a  single  day, 
—  when  we  see  them  bravely  and  undauntedly 
confronting  persecution,  ignominy,  and  death, 
that  they  might  win  souls  to  Christ,  distrusting 
their  own  strength,  yet  strong  in  the  power  of 
the  Omnipotent,  —  we  feel  that  there  was  a  hid- 
den source  of  power,  a  secret  spring  of  influence, 
which  ever  acted  upon  their  souls,  quickening, 
purifying,  and  elevating ;  a  love,  deep,  fervent, 
and  unquenchable,  to  their  divine  Master. 

Is  it  said,  that  this  alone  can  never  render  one 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  43 

an  effective  teacher  of  others  ?  Feel  this  inward 
attraction  in  your  own  heart,  —  know  from  per- 
sonal experience  the  secret  guidance  and  influ- 
ence of  the  Spirit,  —  and  then  give  the  only  true 
answer. 

"  O,  hope  of  every  contrite  heart ! 
O,  joy  of  all  the  meek  ! 
To  those  who  fall  how  kind  thou  art ! 
How  good  to  those  who  seek  ! 

"  But  what  to  those  who  find  ?     Ah,  this 
Nor  tongue  nor  pen  can  show  ! 
The  love  of  Jesus,  what  it  is 
None  but  his  loved  ones  know." 

How  beautiful  and  powerful  are  the  influences 
flowing  from  such  a  principle  of  action !  Look  at 
the  gentle  and  loving  Schwartz,*  whose  life  was 
passed  on  the  distant  plains  of  India,  amid  a 
stranger  nation,  a  pioneer  in  the  great  cause  of 
Eastern  missions  ;  often  surrounded  by  danger 
and  exposed  to  peril  and  suffering,  but  whose 
faith  never  faltered,  and  whose  zeal  never  abated, 
even  when  the  snows  of  threescore  years  and  ten 
encircled  his  brow  as  with  a  crown  of  glory. 
"  His  life,  a  beautiful  copy  of  that  of  his  Re- 
deemer, spoke  to  the  heart  of  the  Hindoo  with 
a  calm,  yet  resistless,  conviction.  During  the 
first  years  that  he  came  among  them,  they  lis- 

*  Christian  Frederic  Schwartz,  born  at  Sonnenburg,  Ger- 
many, October  26,  1726  ;  died  at  Tanjore,  India,  September, 
1797. 


44  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

tened  coldly  and  curiously  to  his  teachings.  It 
was  not  till  they  were  surprised  and  charmed 
with  the  integrity  and  purity  of  his  character  that 
the  doctrines  he  taught  met  with  any  success. 
A  corrupt,  licentious,  and  subtile  people,  who 
could  not  discern,  among  all  the  priests  and  pro- 
fessors of  their  religion,  a  single  example  of  true 
virtue,  self-denial,  or  devotedness,  they  looked  on 
this  man,  inflamed  with  love  and  zeal,  seduced 
neither  by  the  power  nor  the  bribes  of  princes, 
turning  from  the  palace  to  each  humble  home,  to 
mourn,  to  rejoice,  to  pray,  —  they  looked,  and  at 
last  believed."  Deeply  imbued  with  his  Master's 
love  and  sympathy,  forbearance,  and  tender  con- 
descension, —  this  was  the  true  secret  of  his 
power.  "  He  spoke  gently  and  pleadingly,  but 
it  was  an  earnest  and  all-impressive  gentleness, 
that  sank  into  the  soul,  as  the  low,  sweet  tones 
of  heart-felt  music  will  touch  the  inmost  depths 
of  the  spirit  far  sooner  than  the  most  artistic 
symphonies."  It  has  been  well  said,  that  "  no 
man  ever  succeeded  greatly  in  a  career  in  which 
he  did  not  feel  a  delight,  even  to  enthusiasm." 
With  Schwartz,  this  interest  and  enthusiasm 
were  sustained  by  a  divine  power  and  love,  and 
never  abated,  even  to  the  last  failing  energy  of  life. 
"When,  at  a  good  old  age,  he  peacefully  passed 
from  earth,  to  wider  and  nobler  spheres  of  duty, 
many  were  the  tears  of  true  affection  shed  over 
his  mortal  remains,  by  those  whom  he  had  be- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  45 

friended;  —  the  orphan  children  for  whom  he 
had  evinced  a  father's  care  and  tenderness ; 
the  prince  whose  rightful  claims  he  had  firmly 
upheld  ;  those  of  noble  caste  and  extended  in- 
fluence, as  well  as  the  poor,  desolate,  and  for- 
saken, whom  he  had  turned  from  the  darkness  of 
superstition,  ignorance,  and  idolatry,  to  the  only 
true  light  and  life.  A  beautiful  monument  to 
his  memory,  wrought  by  the  graceful  genius  of 
Flaxman,  now  adorns  the  Christian  church  at 
Tanjore,  but  a  more  enduring  monument  than 
one  of  marble  is  the  memory  of  his  Christ-like 
life  and  pure  example ;  while  the  seed  of  truth, 
sown  by  him  in  weakness,  yet  with  a  living  faith, 
has  sprung  up  and  borne  fruit,  even  a  hundred- 
fold,—  fulfilling  his  own  words  of  holy  trust, 
uttered  when  every  prospect  of  success  seemed 
dark  and  dreary,  —  "  Perhaps  the  fruit  will  ap- 
pear when  I  am  laid  at  rest." 

"  Soldier  of  Christ,  well  done  ! 
Praise  be  thy  blest  employ  ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 
Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy  !  " 

Truly  has  it  been  said,  "  The  heart's  affections 
originate  and  compel  work.  The  heart  wrought 
upon,  and  then  given,  an  inexhaustible  fountain 
is  opened,  out  of  which  all  spiritual  action  must 
proceed." 

This  personal  sense  of  indebtedness  to  Christ, 
this  union  of  the  soul  with  him,  can  alone  ren- 


46  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

ft 

der  one  a  true  and  effective  teacher,  —  for  this 
alone  can  impart  life, —  and  life  we  need  ;  not 
dull  indifference,  not  mere  commonplaces  of 
piety,  not  a  tame  mediocrity,  that  may  seem 
well  enough  to  the  world's  eye,  but  a  life  preg- 
nant with  force,  drawing  its  inspiration  from  the 
hidden  counsels  of  divine  wisdom,  sustaining  its 
strength  by  resting  on  the  eternal  words  of  prom- 
ise. Life,  —  not  coldness,  not  indifference,  but 
life,  however  manifested,  however  varied,  if  so 
be  that  it  is  true  and  earnest;  —  even  that 
secret  life  which  is  hid  with   Christ  in  God. 

Have  we  such  a  life  in  our  schools?  —  and  if 
so,  why  are  not  more  definite  and  permanent  re- 
sults manifested?  What  is  the  true  meaning  of 
such  self-consecration  ?  Do  we  not  too  often 
belittle  its  force,  and  seek  to  fashion  it  according 
to  our  own  low  aims  and  worldly  standard  of 
attainment  ? 

First  and  chief  of  all,  it  implies  a  sense  of  in- 
dividual want  and  weakness,  and  a  reliance  on 
the  free  and  unmerited  mercy  of  God  revealed 
through  Christ ;  a  sense  of  personal  union  with 
the  Saviour,  and  of  indebtedness  to  him  as  the 
soul's  only  refuge  and  strength.  It  is  more  than 
an  intellectual  faith  in  the  teachings  of  Christ, 
more  than  a  general  feeling  of  the  worth  and 
importance  of  Gospel  truth  and  a  vague  desire 
to  lead  a  Christian  life  ;  more  than  a  mere  im- 
pulse of  goodness  and  a  wish  to  follow  a  certain 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  47 

fashion  of  benevolence.  It  is  the  giving  up  of 
the  soul  to  God ;  it  is  the  secret  confession 
breathed  in  the  words  of  lowly  and  penitent 
prayer;  it  is  the  yielding  up,  once  and  for  ever, 
all  sense  or  claim  of  personal  merit,  and  relying 
on  the  Spirit  for  guidance,  help,  and  direction. 

Can  a  teacher  speak  of  these  divine  truths, 
unless  he  has  felt  their  power  in  his  own  soul  ? 
unless  he  has  experienced  his  own  deep  need  of 
a  Saviour,  and  felt  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
cross  ?  Is  there  not  among  us  too  much  of  a 
mere  intellectual  knowledge  of  Christ,  as  God's 
chosen  Messiah,  derived  from  reading  or  educa- 
tion, without  a  vital  heart-union  with  him  ?  Is 
there  a  living  faith  in  the  peculiar  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  derived  through  Christ,  and 
dependent  on  him  as  the  ever-present  mediator  ? 
In  how  many  minds,  indeed,  is  there  a  mere 
vague,  general  belief  in  the  agency  and  influence 
of  the  Spirit,  consisting  of  little  more  than  the 
soothing  influences  often  derived  from  the  con- 
templation of  some  beautiful  scene  in  nature  or 
some  master-work  of  art ;  from  the  calmness  of 
the  early  morning,  or  the  often  richer  glories  of 
the  sunset  hour  ;  dependent,  perchance,  upon  the 
tranquil  state  of  the  nerves,  or  the  quietness  and 
success  of  the  outward  life  I  And  with  such, 
how  little  depth  of  meaning  is  attached  to  ex- 
pressions like  these,  "  being  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  being  filled^  reneived,  sanctified  by 
the  Spirit "  !  5 


48  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Without  this  sense  of  union  with  the  Saviour, 
without  this  conscious  guidance  of  the  Spirit, 
can  any  soul  truly  guide,  direct,  and  aid  another 
soul  in  its  heavenward  course  ? 

High  attainments,  or  a  mature  faith,  are  not 
essential;  but  some  spiritual,  realizing  conscious- 
ness of  the  true  relation  of  the  soul  to  God  and 
to  Christ  is  essential. 

By  many  teachers  is  Christ  thus  presented  to 
the  child  ?  Is  he  led  to  feel  that  the  Saviour 
is  ever  present  with  him,  sympathizing  in  his 
joys  and  trials,  watching  his  progress,  strengthen- 
ing each  better  endeavor,  interested  in  every  lit- 
tle conquest  and  every  true  effort  ?  Is  he  taught 
to  pray  through  Christ  for  the  divine  blessing, 
receiving  each  spiritual  gift  through  him  as  the 
one  Mediator,  looking  to  him  as  his  final  Judge, 
as  the  Reconciler  of  the  soul  to  God?  In  fine, 
is  the  image  of  Jesus  so  blended  with  the  in- 
structions and  impressions  received,  that  it  be- 
comes, even  in  childhood,  a  reality  to  the  soul? 

We  complain  of  and  deplore  the  result ;  but 
does  not  the  evil  lie  deeper  than  many  imagine, 
even  in  the  child's  earliest  education,  in  those 
years  when  impressions  are  the  strongest,  and 
the  affections  the  warmest  and  most  vital,  and 
when  too  often  the  young  spirit  is  left  to  itself 
to  gain  its  first  religious  impressions,  at  mere 
hazard,  from  any  chance  seed  that  may  be  sown 
in  the  open  soil  ?     How  often,  too^  even  in  the 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  49 

Christian  household,  is  mere  general  religious 
instruction  and  influence  imparted,  and  no  direct 
parental  efforts  made  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  peculiar  wants,  workings,  trials,  and  question- 
ings of  the  child's  heart!  Where  there  is  any 
natural  diffidence  or  reserve,  especially  in  speak- 
ing of  the  deeper  cravings  and  wants  of  the 
spirit,  this  only  increases  and  strengthens  as 
years  pass  on,  until  the  hour  of  anxious  self- 
questioning  arises,  when  happy  for  the  spirit  if 
it  find  some  Christian  friend  or  teacher,  in  whose 
experience  it  can  confide,  and  receive  the  help 
and  guidance  and  sympathy  it  needs  I 

Oh  I  were  those  who  have  the  care  and  guid- 
ance of  the  young,  in  any  degree  aware  of  the 
deep  impressions  made  in  early  childhood;  of 
the  difficulty  of  building  up  this  living,  realizing 
faith  in  after  years,  when  it  has  not  been  inter- 
woven in  the  very  fabric  of  the  child's  heart,  we 
believe  that  many  would  pause  ere  taking  upon 
themselves  the  sacred  responsibilities  of  teacher 
or  guide,  and  first  ask  in  deep  self-scrutiny, 
"Have  I  a  living  faith  in  Christ?  Do  I  feel 
my  personal  relationship  to  him?  Do  I  so  love 
the  Saviour,  through  a  consciousness  of  what 
he  has  done  for  my  own  soul,  as  to  speak  in 
sincerity  to  the  young  spirit  of  that  divine  love, 
and  to  strive  to  lead  it  in  early  life  to  the  fold 
of  the  Redeemer?  Have  I  a  practical  faith  in 
the  quickening,  sustaining,  sanctifying  influences 


60  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  it  my  daily  prayer 
that  iny  whole  soul  may  be  baptized  with  its 
divine  power  ? 

A  mere  intellectual  faith,  a  belief  in  Christ 
as  a  holy  teacher  alone,  as  yie  Messiah  of  the 
past,  may  be  sufficient  to  some  minds;  bat  it 
serves  not  the  soul  in  the  hour  of  deep  self- 
questioning,  when  the  surging  waves  of  con- 
science and  memory  rise  in  their  gigantic  force, 
and  the  holiness  of  God,  and  his  perfect  law, 
stand  a  vivid  reality  before  the  soul,  disclosing 
all  its  secret  and  hidden  depths ;  it  serves  not 
in  those  silent  watches  of  the  night-season,  or 
in  those  hours  of  physical  prostration,  when  the 
darkened  chamber,  the  hushed  whisper,  and  the 
gentle  footstep  leave  the  soul  to  its  own  self- 
communings,  and  the  thought  arises  in  its 
solemn  power, 

"  Thou  must  go  forth  alone,  my  soul ! 
Thou  must  go  forth  alone, 
To  other  scenes,  to  other  worlds, 
That  mortal  hath  not  known. 
Alone  must  thou  go  forth,  my  soul, 
To  meet  thy  God  above  !  " 

It  serves  not  amid  the  daily  duties  and  toils 
of  life,  the  cares,  anxieties,  and  perplexities, 
the  joys  and  griefs  of  each  passing  hour,  when 
the  soul  needs  a  more  than  human  helper  to 
sustain  its  composure,  to  preserve  its  rectitude, 
to  quench   the  rising  passion,  to  impart  peace. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  51 

Are  we  told  that  Christ  came  to  introduce  and 
establish  a  new  system  of  religion,  and  that 
through  his  perfect  moral  teachings  alone  the 
human  mind  is  to  develop  and  educate  itself? 
Are  we  taught  that  a  faithful,  conscientious  per- 
formance of  duty  is  all  that  God  or  the  Gospel 
requires  ;  and  that  such  a  life  brings  its  own  re- 
ward, here  and  hereafter  ?  Point  us,  we  would 
reply,  to  any  one  heart  that  in  this  way  alone 
has  found  true  strength,  or  the  deepest  peace, 
and  we  will  surrender  our  own  views.  No  :  a  liv- 
ing Saviour  does  the  soul  need ;  a  sense  of  the 
personal  sympathy,  the  ever-quickening  influence 
of  a  present  Christ ;  to  feel  even  noiv  the  thrill- 
ing touch  of  the  Master's  hand,  and,  like  the  dis- 
ciple of  old,  trustingly  to  repose  on  his  breast. 

Tell  us  not  only  of  the  dignity  of  human 
nature,  for  self-knowledge  utters  its  cry  of  in- 
ward want,  failure,  and  destitution  ;  tell  us  not 
alone  of  the  innate  capacities  of  the  soul  and 
its  power  of  self-development,  for  vain  mockeries 
are  they  to  the  soul  in  its  hours  of  deepest  need  ; 
tell  us  not  of  the  goodness  of  God  as  revealed  in 
the  beautiful  harmony  of  the  outward  universe 
alone,  as  if  this  were  an  all-sufficient  anchor  to 
the  spirit ;  for  there  are  moments  when  the  cloud 
within  casts  its  dark  shadow  over  the  fairest 
scenes  and  the  brightest  skies,  and  faint  and 
uncertain  is  nature's  response  to  the  earnest 
questionings  of  the  spirit. 
5* 


52  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

There  are  periods  in  the  lives  of  all  when  ab 
stract  truths  lose  their  power.  In  those  seasons 
when  the  waves  and  billows  of  adversity  sweep 
over  the  soul,  when  all  outward  supports  fail,  and 
even  the  tenderest  human  sympathy  seems  cold 
and  vain  to  the  desolate  and  bleeding  heart ; 
when  sudden  and  desolating  grief  bows  the  spirit 
in  bitter  anguish,  and  the  joy  of  peaceful  days 
is  swept  away  in  a  moment,  —  the  soul  turns 
not  to  arguments,  nor  to  intellectual  truths,  nor 
to  any  mere  words  of  revelation,  for  such  are 
then  all  too  cold  and  lifeless.  It  turns  to  Christ : 
it  seeks  his  consoling  presence  ;  the  tender  sym- 
pathy that  wept  with  the  mourning  sisters  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus,  and  uttered  those  soothing 
words  of  peace  to  the  trembling  and  sorrowing 
disciples,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  ;  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you."  It  follows  him  to  the 
garden-shades,  and  learns  from  that  bitter  agony 
of  the  love  made  perfect  through  suffering ;  and 
as  it  bends  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  there 
reads  the  lesson  of  sublime  self-renunciation,  and 
of  love,  stronger  than  death,  it  feels  and  believes, 
that,  even  though  the  furnace  be  seven  times 
heated,  One  is  ever  with  it  w^ho  will  bring  it 
forth  unharmed.  It  knows  that  the  ministering 
angels  of  God*fe  love  are  near,  and  it  believes  and 
trusts ;  for  He  who  dwells  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father  is  with  it,  giving  the  needed  strength,  and 
abiding  with  it  as  the  ever-present  Comforter. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  5(3 

No  :  abstract  truths,  moral  formulas,  however 
pure  and  sublime,  have  little  power  to  touch  the 
heart,  to  kindle  heavenly  aspirations,  to  awak- 
en the  dormant  sensibilities.  It  was  something 
far  more  and  deeper  than  these  that  has  led  the 
noble  army  of  apostles,  martyrs,  and  mission- 
aries to  yield  up  all  for  Christ.  It  was  more  than 
these  that  induced  Martyn,  in  the  vigor  of  open- 
ing manhood,  to  give  up  home,  and  friends,  and 
country,  to  relinquish  the  rich  emoluments  of 
talent  and  industry,  to  lay  down  his  life  on  the 
burning  plains  of  the  East,  amid  a  strange  and 
heathen  nation,  —  an  early  and  a  noble  sacrifice. 
It  was  more  than  cold  abstractions  that  sus- 
tained the  tender  love  and  untiring  zeal  of  Brai- 
nerd  and  Eliot,  as  they  proclaimed  the  words  of 
Gospel  truth  amid  the  deep  wilds  of  American 
forests  ;  that  led  the  gentle  Mrs.  Boardman  to 
seek  the  shores  of  India,  leaving  all  that  woman's 
heart  holds  so  dear,  and  nobly  and  undauntedly 
to  meet  the  privations  and  toils  of  years  of  suffer- 
ing, sustained  by  a  power  not  her  own ;  that  led 
Oberlin  to  make  his  home  amid  the  snow- 
crowned  Alps,  and  Howard  to  close  his  faithful 
years,  laboring  to  alleviate  the  horrors  of  dun- 
geons and  prisons.  It  was  no  formal  utterance 
of  abstract  truths,  or  of  an  intellectual  faith 
alone,  that  gathered  crowds  to  hear  the  loving 
words  of  Cheverus,  that  breathed  in  the  ten- 
der, winning    accents   of   Fenelon,   that  moved 


64  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

and  swayed  the  breathless  multitude  as  they 
listened  to  the  soul-stirring  words  of  Edwards, 
or  to  the  moving  eloquence  of  Whitefield  and 
Wesley. 

It  was  no  cold  and  formal  truths  that  led  the 
little  band  of  Moravian  missionaries  to  the  bleak 
and  barren  shores  of  Greenland,  that  enabled 
them  to  labor  amid  hardships  and  discourage- 
ments such  as  would  have  wholly  deterred  hearts 
less  earnest  and  trusting,  and  that  enabled  them  to 
speak  with  such  persuasive  fervor  and  zeal  that 
the  hearts  of  the  ignorant  and  degraded  were 
melted  and  touched,  as  they  proclaimed  the 
divine  message  of  pardon  and  salvation. 

No :  they  spoke  of  Christ.  They  pointed  to 
that  central  figure,  the  embodiment  of  all  truth 
and  power,  and  love  and  wisdom,  and  bade  the 
sinful,  the  ignorant,  and  the  dying  turn  to  him 
as  their  only  refuge  and  support.  They  felt  his 
presence  and  his  love  in  their  own  souls,  and 
so  their  words  were  redolent  with  power,  and 
their  tongues  kindled  as  with  the  fire  of  inspira- 
tion. 

Teach,  then,  the  child  of  Christ  the  Saviour, 
and  of  the  Father  of  perfect  holiness  and  love, 
manifested  in  and  through  him.  Let  soul  speak 
to  soul ;  and  though  the  teacher  may  possess  no 
peculiar  talent,  no  high  attainments,  this  inward 
power  and  principle  will  be  felt.  Let  his  daily 
and  fervent  prayer  be,  to  be  brought  into  a  con- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  55 

m 

scious  union  with  his  divine  Master,  to  abide  in 
him,  as  the  branch  in  the  vine,  and  to  feel  that 
all  his  life  is  derived  from  the  Father  through 
him. 

Such  teachers  are  needed  in  our  schools, —  souls 
consecrated  to  Christ,  feeling  that  the  Gospel  is 
addressed  to  them  individually,  and  that  they 
have  a  solemn  responsibility  in  proclaiming  its 
words  of  divine  truth. 

A  consciousness  of  imperfection  and  sin  will 
not  deter  them  from  the  work,  for  they  will  feel 
that  He  who  spake  the  words  of  pardon  and  of 
peace  to  the  weeping  woman  that  bathed  his 
feet  in  tears  of  humble  penitence,  will  not  reject 
any  soul  that  clings  to  him  in  tender  love,  and 
seeks  to  follow  him  in  daily  duty.  Of  the 
humbled  Publican,  not  of  the  self-complacent 
Pharisee,  was  it  said,  that  "  he  went  down  to 
his  house  justified." 

Let  us  have  this  life  of  Christ  in  our  schools, 
this  inward,  spiritual  love  of  the  Saviour,  filling 
the  hearts  of  the  teachers,  and  life  will  spring 
from  barrenness,  and  verdure  and  bloom  will 
cover  every  waste  and  desert  place,  and  the 
promise  of  the  Father  will  come  upon  each 
waiting  soul,  through  his  Christ,  —  even  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


56  BKG1NNI^'G    AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    V. 

QUALIFICATIONS   OF  THE   TEACHER.  INTEREST 

AND  PERSEVERANCE  IN  THE  WORK,  AND  A  TRUE 
LOVE  OF  SOULS. 


"  Take  heed  unto  thyself.  ....  Study  to  show  thyself  approved 
unto  God,  a  workman  that  needcth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  divid- 
ing the  word  of  truth And  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 

strive  ;  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  apt  to  teach,  patient." 


"  I  INTEND  to  take  a  class  in  your  Sabbath 
school,"  said  a  young  lady  to  a  friend  who  for 
several  years  had  been  engaged  as  teacher  ;  "  and 
I  want  your  assistance  in  engaging  some  pupils, 
for  I  know  of  but  one  at  present  whom  I  can 
persuade  to  come."  The  required  promise  was 
readily  given,  and  in  the  course  of  another  week 
the  young  lady  was  informed  that  three  little 
children  were  ready  to  enter  the  school  for  the 
first  time,  taken  from  homes  of  poverty  and  ig- 
norance, having  enjoyed  no  religious  instruction, 
and  especially  needing  the  kind  and  simple  les- 
sons of  love  and  of  truth  that  she  might  be  able 
to  impart.  "  O  1  do  not  want  such  a  class  as 
that,"  was  the  quick  rejoinder ;  "  I  had  rather 


OF    THE    CUIlIiTIAX    LIFE.  57 

wait  till  I  can  find  some  children  more  inviting 
to  teach  ;  I  never  could  do  anything  with  such 
as  those,  I  am  sure,  they  are  so  uninteresting." 
And  so  the  golden  opportunity  was  lost,  and 
another  and  a  truer  disciple  of  her  Master  was 
found,  to  unseal  the  fountains  of  spiritual  truth 
to  those  young  and  thirsting  souls,  one  to  whom 
it  shall  be  said  hereafter,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 

Could  such  a  spirit  as  was  here  exhibited  have 
been  calculated  to  exert  a  beneficial  influence 
over  the  young  and  inexperienced?  Was  there 
any  true  self-consecration  to  the  Master's  ser- 
vice ?  any  realizing  sense  of  the  worth  of  the 
soul,  and  of  the  Father's  love  for  the  youngest 
and  the  feeblest  spirit?  Are  there  no  such  teach- 
ers now  in  any  of  our  schools  ?  Is  there  not 
among  us  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  ease  and  self- 
indulgence,  and  too  little  of  the  true  missionary 
spirit  of  self-renunciation,  of  that  deep  love  of 
our  work  which  would  lead  us  to  count  all  things 
as  naught,  so  that  we  might  win  souls  to  Christ? 

If  the  teacher  enter  upon  his  office  simply  as 
a  matter  of  course,  because  he  is  anxious  to  fol- 
low others,  or  merely  to  pass  a  Sabbath  hour 
agreeably  among  five  or  six  well-behaved,  well- 
dressed  children,  making  little  or  no  preparation 
for  his  duties  beforehand,  and  deeming  those  du- 
ties fulfilled  when  the  appointed  lesson  is  well 
recited,  though  but  a  portion  of  the  time  allotted 


58  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

to  such  recitations  be  thus  occupied,  what  ought 
to  be  expected  ?  what  is  the  necessary  and  real 
result  ?  As  we  sow,  so  shall  we  reap.  Indiffer- 
ence, or  a  superficial  goodness,  or  a  faith  merely- 
founded  upon  the  intellect,  and  having  no  deep, 
abiding  root  in  the  soul,  must  be  the  natural 
consequence  of  such  teaching.  Where  a  teach- 
er undertakes  his  responsible  office,  virtually  ex- 
pressing, in  so  doing,  his  faith  in  Christ  as  his 
own  guide  and  example,  and  his  desire  so  to  fol- 
low his  life  of  benevolence  and  self-sacrifice  as 
to  be  the  means  of  leading  young  hearts  to 
choose  him  as  their  only  teacher  and  guide,  of 
bringing  back  the  lost  and  wandering  to  look  to 
him  as  their  only  sufficient  Saviour  and  Redeem- 
er, and  yet  is  unwilling  to  take  under  his  charge 
any  but  the  well-dressed  children  of  the  more 
favored  classes  among  us,  is  there  not  some  vi- 
tal defect  in  his  spirit,  which,  if  he  has  any  true 
self-knowledge,  ought  to  deter  him  from  taking 
such  an  office  at  all  ?  Can  he  possess  that  love 
of  souls  w^hich  alone  can  render  his  teaching 
effective  ? 

We  well  know  the  discouragements  attending 
the  charge  of  a  class  of  the  more  ignorant  and 
neglected  children  among  us  ;  but  we  know,  too, 
the  happiness  and  the  good  resulting  from  such 
intercourse  ;  and  we  cannot  but  feel,  that  in 
most  instances  where  no  good  has  been  effected, 
the  want  of  success  is  to  be  attributed  in  part  to 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  59 

the  teacher,  as  well  as  to  adverse  home  influences 
We  have  known  instances  where  a  teacher  has 
had  children  for  months  under  his  care,  who  yet 
has  never  seen  them  in  their  own  homes  ;  never 
expressed  any  interest  in  the  long  sickness  of  a 
parent,  brother,  or  sister;  never  testified  that  in 
any  way  they  were  associated  with  other  than 
the  Sabbath  hours.  We  have  known  other  teach- 
ers, who  have  seen  the  neglect,  undertake  the 
offices  of  Christian  charity  to  such  children,  in 
addition  to  those  under  their  immediate  care , 
speaking  the  kindly  word  of  sympathy  at  home, 
and  creating  ties  of  spiritual  love  and  gratitude, 
which  the  nominal  teacher  in  vain  could  expect 
to  form.  When  the  former  have  complained  of 
coldness  or  indifference,  or  want  of  success,  and 
have  wondered  how  others  possessed  the  "tact" 
of  interesting  such  ignorant  and  uneducated 
minds,  we  have  sometimes  thought  that  the  true 
cause  was  sought  everywhere  but  within.  Are 
the  discouragements  attending  the  instruction  of 
such  children  more  or  greater  than  must  be  en- 
countered by  every  true  teacher  in  the  charge  of 
those  who  come  from  mere  worldly  and  fashion- 
able homes,  where  the  voice  of  prayer  is  seldom 
or  never  heard,  and  the  Bible  is  regarded  as  only 
a  book  for  Sundays,  or  its  gilded  covers  as  a 
suitable  ornament  for  the  centre-table  ?  Has  not 
the  teacher  even  a  more  difficult  work  here  to 
perform  in  overcoming  frivolity  and  indifference, 
6 


60  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTU 

and  ill  breaking  through  the  hard  crust  of  self- 
satisfied  complacency' and  self-righteousness?  If 
the  child  or  youth  sees  the  teacher,  who  speaks 
to  him  in  the  Sabbath  hours  of  the  duties  of 
self-denial  and  self-consecration,  of  the  supreme 
importance  of  eternal  realities,  and  of  the  com- 
parative worthlessness  and  insignificance  of  the 
merely  external  and  outward,  absorbed  during 
the  week  in  every  passing  pleasure,  —  devoted 
to  dress  and  fashion  and  gain,  fond  of  flattery 
and  amusement,  making  no  systematic  or  ear- 
nest efforts  for  self-improvement  or  the  good  of 
others,  —  what  wonder  that  he  regards  the  in- 
structions of  the  Seventh  day  as  of  little  worth 
or  importance  !  No  :  the  work  is  regarded  as  far 
too  easy  a  one,  and  so,  too  often,  those  of  little 
spiritual  energy,  vital  religious  power,  or  practi- 
cal force  of  character,  enter  into  the  labor,  ex- 
pecting to  reap  at  once  an  abundant  harvest,  and 
are  disappointed  because  they  only  reap  as  they 
have  sown.  The  eye  of  the  child  is  quick  and 
ready  to  discern  ;  and  unless  there  be  in  the 
teacher  a  true  and  heart-felt  love,  and  a  spirit  of 
patient,  calm  perseverance  in  his  work,  in  vain 
will  it  be  to  address  to  the  pupil  mere  words  of 
goodness ;  he  will  see  through  the  shallow  arti- 
fice, and  his  own  languid  interest  will  but  reflect 
the  teacher's  spirit. 

A  truer  self-consecration  and  a  more  genuine 
vital  energy  are  needed  among  us.    Something  of 


OF    TIIK    CIIIIISTIAN    LIFE.  61 

that  resolute  zeal  by  which  Chalmers  effected  so 
much  amid  the  crowded  streets  and  narrow  lanes 
of  Glasgow,  in  bringing  the  neglected  children  of 
want  and  ignorance  under  the  influence  of  well- 
regulated  schools  and  faithful  teachers,  and 
which  led  him  to  say,  in  deep  earnestness,  to 
those  engaged  with  him  in  the  same  noble  work 
"  Until  men  go  forth  among  our  heathen  at 
home  with  the  same  zeal  and  enthusiasm  which 
are  expected  of  missionaries  who  go  abroad, 
there  will  be  little  true  knowledge  of  religion 
throughout  the  mass  of  our  city  families,  or  a 
reclaiming  of  them  from  those  sad  habits  of  alien- 
ation from  God  and  from  goodness  into  which 
the  vast  majority  of  them  have  fallen." 

We  want,  not  only  those  who  are  ready  to 
labor  beneath  sunny  skies  and  in  a  serene  atmos- 
phere, where  a  quiet,  simple  routine  is  to  be 
weekly  passed  through,  and  no  difficulties  en- 
countered, no  opposition  experienced ;  but  we 
need  spirits  made  strong  through  endurance,  res- 
olute by  action,  stringent  by  earnest  exercise. 
In  this  cause,  if  in  any,  we  need  the  energy  and 
zeal  manifested  in  other  departments  of  duty, 
amid  the  routine  of  business,  the  competition  for 
distinction,  the  struggle  for  literary  eminence  and 
fame.  Let  the  teacher  go  to  his  duties  with 
heart  and  mind,  energy  and  strength.  Listless- 
ness  and  indifference  are  the  sure  forerunners  of 
spiritual  death. 


62  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Let  him  be  awake  to  his  work.  Spiritual  in- 
dolence is  a  most  -subtle  enemy,  and  one  more 
to  be  feared  by  every  true-hearted  Christian  than 
any  other.  Where  there  is  a  Christ-like,  living 
spirit,  "  it  will  never  suffer  the  individual  to  sit 
idly  with  folded  hands,  looking  lazily  out  on  the 
white  fields  of  harvest,  where  no  reaper's  sickle 
rings  against  the  wheat ;  but  it  will  send  him 
forth  to  work,  nerved  with  an  impulse  that  no 
disappointment  can  palsy,  no  misgivings  keep 
back."  Such  an  energy,  not  fitful  and  spasmodic, 
but  having  its  seat  in  the  inmost  soul,  cannot  but 
be  effectual  and  life-giving. 

In  the  Christian  teacher,  one  of  its  first  and 
most  essential  fruits  will  manifest  itself  by  a 
faithful  punctuality  in  all  the  duties  of  his  office. 
His  seat  will  not  be  found  vacant  every  time  that 
the  weather  is  a  little  unpropitious,  or  any  little 
personal  effort  is  needed  for  him  to  be  present  at 
the  appointed  hour ;  but  he  will  regard  it  as  an 
essential  duty  to  the  whole  school,  no  less  than 
to  his  individual  class,  to  be  at  his  post  regularly 
and  punctually,  unless  sickness  or  absolute  ne- 
cessity detains  him  from  his  duties. 

Nothing  can  be  more  injuriousto  the  discipline 
and  regularity  of  a  school,  than  to  have  the  bane- 
ful example  of  teachers  who  are  inconstant  in 
their  attendance,  or  who,  by  a  late  and  hurried 
entrance,  interrupt  the  opening  exercises  of  the 
school.     Order,  regularity,  and  method  are  essen- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  63 

tial  to  every  well-arranged  and  well-governed 
school,  and  these  ends  cannot  be  secured  without 
the  co-operation  of  the  individual  teacher.  At 
the  cost  of  whatever  personal  effort,  let  him  feel 
that  there  is  an  absolute  obligation  laid  upon 
him  so  to  act ;  for  as  regularly  and  punctually 
should  he  be  at  his  post  as  the  teacher  of  any  of 
our  secular  schools. 

If  he  is  obliged  to  be  absent,  or  to  suspend  his 
duties  for  a  season,  let  him  give  due  notice 
to  the  superintendent,  and  make  such  arrange- 
ments as  may  be  possible  to  have  his  place  sup- 
plied. Nothing  is  more  discouraging  to  a  class, 
and  more  surely  quenches  at  once  all  ardor  and 
interest  in  their  pursuits,  than  to  go  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  and  find  their  teacher  absent;  or  if  they 
are  in  season,  to  have  him  enter,  when  the  open- 
ing exercises  have  been  performed,  or  the  school 
is  half  over.  Every  teacher  should  be  in  his 
place  before  the  opening  of  the  school,  and  be 
ready  in  a  calm,  quiet,  and  collected  spirit,  to 
meet  his  pupils. 

A  faithful  and  eminently  successful  teacher, 
now  passed  from  earth,  always  made  it  his 
practice  to  be  in  his  seat  some  minutes  before 
his  pupils,  in  order  to  find  time  to  collect 
his  thoughts,  to  offer  renewedly  the  secret 
prayer  for  guidance  and  a  special  blessing  on 
his  instructions,  and  to  realize  more  fully  his 
Master's  presence  and  sympathy  in  his  imme- 
6* 


64  r.EGIXNING    AND    GROWTH 

diate  labors.  Might  not  such  a  practice  be 
beneficial  to  every  teacher  ?  and  still  more, 
would  not  its  spirit  react  with  vital  power  upon 
every  pupil  ? 

If  these  duties  are  undertaken  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  with  a  sincere  desire  to  be  a  minister  of 
good  to  other  souls,  there  must  also  exist  in  the 
teacher's  heart  the  Saviour's  spirit  of  self-renun- 
ciation, of  patient  love  and  sympathy.  To  speak 
to  the  heart  of  the  child,  we  must  understand 
something  of  its  wants  and  desires,  its  joys  and 
griefs,  its  hopes  and  fears.  We  must  feel  with 
him,  make  his  individual  character  a  close  study, 
and  regard  nothing  as  little  that  contributes  to 
his  happiness,  or  that  ever  brings  a  shadow 
over  his  youthful  brow.  What  seem  little 
things  to  us,  trials  and  joys  too  trivial  to  men- 
tion, are  great  to  him  ;  and  it  is  in  and  through 
these  daily  and  seemingly  trivial  events  that 
he  is  to  be  led  to  a  true  self-conquest,  and  a 
trusting,  child-like  faith. 

Tell  him  not  in  abstract  terms  of  love  and 
duty  and  immortality  ;  but  touch  those  warm 
and  glowing  affections,  too  often  repressed  by 
ignorance,  or  sin,  or  coldness  ;  lead  him  to  con- 
fide in  you  as  a  loving,  sympathizing  friend,  to 
whom  he  may  freely  trust  his  troubles  and  his 
joys,  —  then  bring  before  him  that  Holy  One, 
who  took  the  little  children  in  his  arms  and 
blessed  them,  who    rolled    back  the  shadow  of 


OF    THE    CHUISTIAN    LIFE.  6t> 

death  from  the  brow  of  the  young  Jewish 
maiden,  and  who  himself  became  the  child  of 
sorrow  and  of  suffering,  tliat  for  evermore  its 
poicer  might  be  transfigured  to  human  hearts. 

Tell  him  of  the  kind  and  good  Father  who 
watches  over  him,  and  loves  him,  and  cares  for 
him  infinitely  more  than  the  best  of  earthly 
parents  ;  associate  the  thought  of  God  with  all 
that  is  glad  and  beautiful  in  life;  teach  him  to 
look  above  for  a  blessing,  with  the  brightness  of 
each  opening  morning,  and  to  seek  the  shelter  of 
the  same  watchful  care  and  love,  as  the  evening 
shades  gather  around  his  home. 

Let  no  coldness,  no  sternness,  no  unsympa- 
thizing  word  or  look  repress  the  childish  utter- 
ance of  love,  or  chill  the  warm  glow  of  his 
young  affections.  Let  him  not  feel  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  has  no  part  in  the  joys  of 
childhood,  or  the  gladness  of  opening  youth,  but 
through  a  cheerful  faith,  a  ready  sympathy,  and 
a  glad  participation  in  all  that  contributes  to 
his  innocent  amusement  or  true  improvement, 
let  him  learn  the  reality  and  the  joy  of  a  true 
religious  faith  and  hope. 

Some  there  are  well  fitted  for  their  vocation 
in  all  but  this,  —  they  do  not  enter  into  the 
child's  feelings,  nor  learn  through  a  gentle  sym- 
pathy the  access  to  his  heart.  It  is  like  an  un- 
known region  to  them.  "  Father,"  said  a  bright, 
intelligent  boy  of   nine    years,  as  the  hour  for 


66  .BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

school  arrived  ;  "  Father,  if  you  will  let  me  be 
in  Mr.  B.'s  class,  I  should  like  to  go  ;  but  if  not, 
I  do  not  want  to  attend  school  any  longer,  for  I 
do  n't  think  my  teacher  cares  anything  about 
me.  He  hears  and  explains  my  lessons,  it  is 
true,  but  I  know  he  do  n't  love  me."  And  yet 
there  was  no  more  conscientious  and  iaitelligent 
teacher  in  the  school  than  the  one  referred  to 
but  he  had  studied  truth  too  much  in  reference 
to  the  intellect  only,  and  realized  not  the  essen  • 
tial  importance  of  studying  even  more  the  child's 
heart,  and  of  learning  how  to  enter  into  his 
active,  inquisitive  mind. 

The  heart  must  breathe  in  the  words  and  man- 
ner. *  Teach  the  child  in  every  possible  way,  by 
every  little  attention,  every  word  of  encourage- 
ment or  admonition,  that  yours  is  a  deep  and 
a  triie  interest,  and  your  instructions  will  not  be 
in  vain.  Expect  not  to  mark  the  same  interest, 
or  to  witness  the  same  results  in  all,  but  study 
each  individual  character,  and  seek  to  bring  out 
the  peculiar  excellencies  of  each  ;  to  learn  their 
different  tastes,  habits,  and  feelings.  Show  that 
you  appreciate  their  least  endeavors ;  for  a  word 
of  encouragement  will  often  do  far  more  than 
reproof.  If  the  child  be  indolent  and  careless, 
seek  worthy  stimulants  to  rouse  him  to  exertion  ; 
if  cold  and  indifferent,  strive  to  quicken  his  dor- 
mant affections  ;  if  irritable  and  petulant,  evince 
always  a  quiet  and  firm  manner,  and  teach  him 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  .  67 

by  your  own  gentle  and  loving  spirit  the  beauty 
of  a  Christ-like  temper.  Never  reprove  in  harsh- 
ness, or  before  others,  wounding  the  delicate  sen- 
sitiveness of  the  child's  heart.  Talk  not  of  his 
peculiar  faults  before  the  whole  class,  but  speak 
to  him  alone  or  in  private,  and  expose  not  his 
susceptible  feelings  to  the  laugh  or  gaze  of 
others.  Lead  him  to  feel  that  you  have  confi- 
dence in  his  power  of  improvement,  and  so 
awaken  in  him  a  true  self-reliance  ;  for  constant 
fault-finding  is  always  and  everywhere  depress- 
ing. Never  reprove  or  admonish  when  there  is 
the  least  degree  of  anger  or  impatience  in  your 
own  soul.  A  reproof  loses  all  its  moral  majesty 
and  its  due  effect  when  the  tongue  teaches  one 
thing,  and  the  manner,  voice,  and  expression  of 
countenance  wholly  another. 

Insist  on  order  and  obedience  in  your  class 
from  the  very  first,  for  nothing  can  be  accom- 
plished without  these.  Be  firm,  dignified,  and  reso- 
lute, and  at  the  same  time  gentle  and  affectionate. 

Let  not  any  pupil  receive  a  partial  attention. 
Turn  not  to  the  bright,  intelligent,  and  thought- 
ful, as  if  they  were  to  receive  exclusive  care  ;  but 
remember,  that  beneath  the  coarse  garb,  uninter- 
esting exterior,  and  often  repulsive  bearing  of 
the  child  of  ignorance  and  want,  there  are  the 
germs  of  a  life  as  true  and  noble  as  in  the  more 
favored  child  of  affluence  and  of  joy.  Nay : 
give  a  double  attention  to  such,  —  show  them  a 


68  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

deeper  love  and  a  more  tender  sympathy,  for 
they  need  it  more.  It  may,  indeed,  be  more 
pleasant  to  train  the  delicate  and  cultivated 
plant,  and  watch  its  beautiful  unfolding;  but 
the  rough  and  unsightly  shrub  will  often  yield 
the  richest  and  most  abundant  fruit,  —  and  "  by 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

May  it  not  be,  that  your  love,  your  simple 
words  of  kindness,  alone  stand  between  the  child 
and  a  cold,  unsympathizing  world?  Home  he 
may  know  only  as  a  nightly  shelter,  —  perchance 
not  even  that;  and  a  parent's  name  brings  up  no 
endearing  thought,  recalls  no  soothing,  gentle 
voice  of  love.  You  may  imagine  your  endeav- 
ors all  fruitless  and  void  ;  but  in  after  years  it 
may  be  that  your  image  will  blend  with  those 
loving  words,  "  Our  Father,"  and  he  will  bless 
God  for  one  who  shed  a  single  beam  of  light 
upon  his  benighted  and  darkened  childhood. 
Would  not  such  a  consciousness  be  an  ample 
reward  for  every  sacrifice  and  discouragement  ? 

Stand,  for  once,  beside  the  dying  bed  of  such 
a  child ;  all  is  cheerless  i'n  the  cold  and  desolate 
room  ;  no  mother's  gentle  voice  speaks  of  the 
good  Shepherd's  care,  or  soothes  the  weary 
spirit,  as  it  passes  through  the  dark  valley ;  no 
cheering  words  of  faith  and  hope  point  the  de- 
parting soul  to  the  glad,  bright  home  above  ;  but 
noisy  words  and  harsh  discords  fall  on  the  ear, 
with  no  loving  hand  to   bathe  the  aching  brow 


OF    THE    CHUIiTIAN    I.IF!-:.  69 

or  soothe  the  weary  limbs.  But  :un id  all  the 
noisy  strife  and  all  the  outward  cheerlessness, 
see  how  the  little  hand  clasps  the  simple  hymn- 
book  given  her  by  her  teacher  one  glad  summer's 
morning,  and  which  brought  so  bright  a  smile 
over  the  careworn  face,  as  she  was  told  that  it 
was  "  her  own "  ;  listen  to  the  half-murmured 
words  of  the  last  Sabbath  lesson,  — 

"  '  Let  little  children  come  to  me,' 
The  blessed  Saviour  said  "  ; 

watch  the  bright  smile  that  steals  over  the  pallid 
face,  and  beams  in  heavenly  beauty  amid  such 
a  scene,  as  if  the  Saviour  were  indeed  visibly 
present  to  that  young  spirit,  waiting  to  receive  it 
to  his  arms  of  love  ;  and  then  turn  away,  and  ask, 
if  you  can,  "  Is  it  a  light  thing  to  be  a  teacher  to 
such  as  these  ?  " 

Not  many  months  since,  a  young  man  in  a 
sailor's  garb  entered  the  store  of  a  merchant  in 

the  city  of  P .      On    being  asked   what   he 

wished  for,  as  he  carelessly  leaned  over  the 
counter,  he  looked  steadily  into  the  merchant's 
face,  and  in  a  trembling  voice  exclaimed,  "  Do 

you  not  know  William  H ,  your  old  pupil  ?  " 

Well  might  he  ask  the  question,  for  his  whole 
exterior  was  not  more  changed  than  the  expres- 
sion of  his  countenance,  once  cold,  careless,  and 
indifferent,  now  full  of  life  and  animation,  and 
speaking  of  a  conscience  no  longer  silenced  and 
disobeved. 


70  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

In  relating  to  his  friend  his  personal  adven- 
tures as  a  sailor,  during  the  previous  five  years, 
he  made  the  following  touching  remarks  :  — 

"  I  well  know  the  trouble  I  gave  you,  w^hen  in 
your  class  at  Sunday  school ;  how  utterly  heed- 
less I  was  of  all  your  instructions,  and  how  in 
every  way  I  tried  to  thwart  your  endeavors.    One 

Sunday,  in  company  with  H ,  I  behaved  even 

worse  than  usual,  and  you  told  me  that  you 
should  be  obliged  to  dismiss  me  from  the  school, 
unless  I  would  promise  to  behave  better.  You 
talked  seriously  and  very  earnestly  to  me.  I  felt 
it  all,  but  was  too  proud  to  show  it,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  brave  it  out,  though  in  my  heart  I  knew 
you  were  my  best  friend. 

"However,  the  next  week,  being  somewhat 
ashamed  and  weary  of  my  vagrant  kind  of  life, 
and  dreading  too,  more  than  all,  my  mother's 
quiet  reproof,  I  engaged  as  a  sailor  on  board  the 
merchant  ship  •  Columbus.' 

"  The  next  Sunday  morning,  I  thought  I  would 
just  go  into  school  once  more,  as  I  really  felt  a 
little  homesick  at  the  thought  of  going  to  sea 
for  the  first  time,  to  be  absent  many  months. 
The  opening  hymn  was  being  sung,  as  I  noisily 
entered.  I  took  my  seat,  but  cared,  as  usual, 
little  for  the  lessons.  Had  you  spoken  coldly  or 
harshly,  it  would  have  been  all  over  with  me. 
But  when  you  took  my  hand  so  kindly,  and 
spoke  so  earnestly,  pleading  with  me  to  leave  off 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  71 

my  bad  habits,  I  felt  more  ashamed,  more  self- 
convicted,  than  ever  before.  I  said  nothing; 
but  when  you  bade  me  '  good  by,'  using  no  re- 
proachful words,  and  the  next  morning  went  all 
the  way  to  the  wharf  to  see  me  safe  on  board 
the  vessel,  and  placed  this  very  Bible  in  my 
hands,  I  could  no  longer  resist  your  patient  kind- 
ness. Often  and  often  did  your  words  come 
back  to  me  amid  the  busy  scenes  of  the  day,  or 
when  watching  alone  by  night  on  the  cold  deck, 
and  I  then  solemnly  determined,  Grod  helping 
me,  to  lead  a  better  life. 

"  Months  and  years  have  passed,  but  you  have 
never  been  forgotten  in  my  daily  prayers ;  and  I 
determined,  if  ever  I  reached  this  port  again,  to 
come  and  thank  you  for  your  love  and  kind- 
ness;—  for,"  he  added  in  a  faltering  voice,  "to 
you,  under  God,  do  I  owe  all  that  I  now  am 
and  all  that  I  hope  for  hereafter.  Had  you 
been  unsympathizing  or  discouraged,  who  knows 
where  I  might  now  have  been  ?  " 

At  the  same  time,  and  in  the,  same  school, 
was  a  girl,  quick  and  bright  of  intellect,  and  at- 
tractive in  personal  appearance,  but  wild,  careless, 
and  irreverent  in  disposition,  and  devoted  chiefly 
to  dress,  fashion,  and  every  passing  amusement. 
Caring,  as  she  did,  little  for  application  in  any 
pursuit,  and  disregarding  home  instructions,  her 
teacher  sought  in  vain  to  impress  her  with  the 
importance  of  religious  truths  and  duties,  or  with 
the  solemn  realities  of  a  life  to  come. 
7 


72  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Month  after  month  she  attended  the  school, 
and  often  her  teacher  was  on  the  point  of  giving 
up  what  seemed  a  hopeless  task,  so  little  appar- 
ent influence  did  she  exert  over  her.  At  length 
she  removed  to  another  city.  Years  passed  on. 
Those  who  once  were  pupils  had  taken  the 
places  of  teachers  in  the  school,  and  still  its  use- 
fulness was  sustained.     Nothing  had  been  heard 

of  Caroline  B ,  until,  one  Sabbath  morning, 

a  letter  was  handed  to  her  old  teacher,  directed 
in  a  well-known  hand.  After  giving  an  account 
of  her  new  and  pleasant  home  in  the  far  West, 
and  of  the  little  family  gathered  around  her,  in 
touchinsr  terms  she  referred  to  the   old  school- 

room    at   ,    and   of  the    many    associations 

gathered  around  that  spot.  "  Often  and  often 
have  I  thought  of  your  kindness  and  of  your  in- 
structions, and  thanked  God  that  you  wearied 
not  in  what  must  have  seemed  such  fruitless 
labors.  I  know  I  ridiculed  and  spurned  them. 
But  when  laid  for  months  on  the  bed  of  sick- 
ness, unable  even  to  read,  your  gentle  voice  and 
those  Sabbath  lessons  came  back  to  me  as  fresh- 
ly and  as  vividly  as  but  yesterday.  Your  plead 
ing  and  earnest  words  echoed  and  re-echoed 
through  my  soul,  and  when  life  and  health  slow^- 
ly  returned,  I  arose  from  my  bed  another  and  a 
different  beino^.  Life  has  become  transfis^ured  to 
me.  The  future  is  no  longer  a  dream,  nor  eter- 
nity and  retribution  mere  names.     Gladly  would 


OF    THE    CIIKISTIAX    LIFE.  73 

I  pour  forth  my  heart-felt  thanks  to  you,  but 
words  are  inadequate.  In  another  world,  next 
to  the  Saviour  shall  I  thank  you  for  your  love 
to  me,  when  I  rendered  no  return." 

Do  not  such  incidents  as  these  —  and  easily 
could  they  be  multiplied  —  speak  in  earnest  tones 
to  every  teacher  of  the  duty  of  long-suffering  pa- 
tience, and  a  steady,  hearty  perseverance  in  the 
work  ?  Shall  we  be  so  quick  and  ready  to  see 
the  faults  and  be  discouraged  by  the  heedless- 
ness of  the  little  child,  or  the  ardent,  impetuous 
youth,  when  standing  in  such  daily  need  our- 
selves of  the  Divine  forbearance  and  forgiveness  ? 
"Where  should  we  be,  were  the  Master  as  ready 
to  mark  our  follies  and  sins,  as  we  are  to  com- 
plain of  those  who  often  hear  no  words  of  re- 
ligious instruction,  save  from  our  lips  ? 

Let  the  teacher  be  diligent,  faithful,  and  true, 
but  never  let  him  be  discouraged  in  witnessing 
no  immediate  results  of  his  labors.  "  First  the 
blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the 
ear." 

Let  him  faithfully  give  line  upon  line,  precept 
upon  precept,  never  wearying  of  repeating  the 
same  explanations,  patiently  meeting  the  various 
wants  of  his  pupils,  and  in  trusting  faith  break- 
ing to  them  the  bread  of  life.  Let  him  never 
give  way  to  any  feelings  of  impatience  or  irrita- 
bility, or  evince,  by  a  careless,  hurried  manner, 
that  he  is  weary  of  his  work ;  but  let  him  ever 


74  BEGINNING    AND    GKOWTU 

remember  Him  who  is  long-suffering  and  kind, 
even  to  the  unthankful  and  the  evil,  and  never 
feel  discouraged,  so  long  as  he  is  conscious  of 
having  spoken  and  acted  with  the  sincere  pur- 
pose of  following  his  divine  Master. 

"  Speak  gently  .to  the  erring  ones, 
They  must  have  toiled  in  vain  ; 
Perchance  unkindness  made  them  so  ; 
O,  win  them  back  again  ! 

"  Speak  gently,  —  't  is  a  little  thing 
Dropped  in  the  heart's  deep  well ; 
The  good,  the  joy,  that  it  may  bring 
Eternity  shall  tell." 

Patience  and  perseverance,  learned  from  a  holy 
communion  with  the  Saviour's  life  and  spirit, 
inwrought  into  the  secret  recesses  of  the  soul, 
what  qualifications  more  essential  to  the  religious 
teacher !  Patience  towards  others,  patience  with 
one's  own  heart,  sustained  by  the  steadfast,  on- 
ward endeavor,  and  the  quiet  waiting  upon 
God ;  a  fixed  and  definite  aim,  upheld  by  a 
strong,  resolute,  and  determined  perseverance  to 
go  right  onward,  though  no  visible,  immediate 
results  are  realized,  —  such  a  spirit  does  every 
teacher  need. 

To  every  one  truly  and  heartily  engaged  in 
the  work  is  it  said,  with  a  deep  and  abiding 
emphasis,  "B:  not  weary  in  well-doing";  for 
the  promise  is  sure  and  for  ever,  "  In  due  sea- 
son ye  shall  reap,  if  ye  faint  not." 


OF    THE    CHllISTIAN    LIFE.  75 


CHAPTER    VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS     OF     THE     TEACHER. CHRISTIAN 

FAITH    AND    HOPEFULNESS. 


0  help  us,  through  the  prayer  of  faith, 

More  firmly  to  believe ; 
For  still  the  more  the  servant  hath, 

The  more  shall  he  receive." 


"  If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed," 
said  our  Saviour  to  his  disciples,  as,  awe-struck 
and  astonished,  they  witnessed  the  display  of  his 
miraculous  power,  "  ye  shall  say  unto  this  moun- 
tain. Remove  hence  to  yonder  place,  and  it  shall 
remove  ;  and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  you." 
In  another  place,  as  if  to  unfold  to  them  yet 
more  fully  the  profound  and  seemingly  hidden 
mystery  of  his  words,  he  adds,  "  What  things 
soever  ye  desire  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye 
receive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them." 

Are  not  these  words  equally  applicable  to  the 
Christian  teacher  of  the  present  day  as  to  those 
first  disciples?  However  widely  different  in  its 
peculiar  circumstances  and  mere  outward  envi- 


76  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

ronments,  is  there  not  as  deep  a  need  nov)  in  the 
Church  of  Christ  of  this  true,  abiding  faith,  as 
in  those  earlier  times,  when  trial  and  persecution 
were  the  certain  results  of  a  frank  and  honest 
avowal  of  the  divine  claims  of  the  Redeemer  ? 

Is  not  this  faith  greatly  wanting  among  us  ? 
Have  we  not,  to  a  great  degree,  lost  a  simple 
and  practical  trust  in  the  power  and  efficacy  of 
prayer,  the  one  great  means  of  sustaining  a  true 
and  living  faith  ?  Believing,  it  may  be,  intellec- 
tually, in  the  promise  of  divine  help  and  guid- 
ance, is  there  not  among  many  a  half-acknowl- 
edged feeling  that  prayer  is  only  an  act  of  self- 
excitation,  a  requisite  form  of  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  divine  goodness  and  support,  but 
bringing  to  the  soul  no  peculiar  benefits,  no 
special  blessing  from  the  fount  of  divine  truth 
and  love  ?  Is  there  not  a  too  prevalent  feeling 
of  the  necessary  reliance  upon  God  as  the  author 
of  eternal  law  and  order,  as  a  Being  unchange- 
able in  his  government,  and  for  ever  fixed  in  his 
wdse  and  inscrutable  decrees,  without  that  rever- 
ential fear,  that  personal  confidence,  that  holy 
trust,  that  sees  in  all  a  Father's  hand,  that  be- 
lieves in  his  direct,  immediate  communion  with 
every  soul,  listening  to  the  faintest  prayer  of  the 
sincere  and  child-like  spirit,  and  adapting  every 
blessing,  every  trial,  every  event  to  the  ultimate 
good  of  the  individual  soul,  —  yearning  over  it 
with   a   Father's   tenderness,   and   satisfying  its 


OF    THE    CHIIISTIAN    LIFE.  77 

faintest  desires  from  his  own  overflowing  fulness 
and  love  ? 

The  sublimest  of  the  prophets,  in  the  midst  of 
his  warnings  and  entreaties  to  the  chosen  people 
of  Jehovah,  speaks  of  the  Holy  One  as  "being 
afflicted  in  all  the  afflictions  of  his  people."  And 
will  not  such  a  view  of  the  divine  character,  so 
tender^  so  compassionate,  so  congenial  to  the  in- 
dividual consciousness,  alone  prompt  the  sincere 
and  heart-felt  prayer,  the  earnest  supplication  for 
a  faith  like  that  which  He  revealed  w^ho  ever 
dwelt  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  ? 

Is  not  such  a  faith,  faint  it  may  be  ai  first, 
and  often  doubting  and  hesitating,  but  growing 
with  the  soul's  growth,  and  daily  increasing  with 
its  strength,  is  not  such  a  faith  an  essential  quali- 
fication for  the  teacher  of  religious  truth  ? 

Were  we  asked,  indeed,  to  point  out  the 
quality  which,  more  than  any  other,  is  needed 
to  render  one  an  effective  and  successful  teacher 
of  the  young,  we  should  reply  at  once  and  em- 
phatically, Faith,  —  not  a  mere  belief  in  the  Gos- 
pel as  a  divine  revelation,  but  a  heart  conscious 
of  its  power,  and  firmly  relying  on  the  Saviour's 
word  of  promise,  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask,  be- 
lieving, ye  shall  receive." 

However  humble,  however  diffident  of  his 
own  strength,  however  young  and  inexperienced, 
if  this  principle  dwell  in  his  soul,  the  teacher 
will  not  hesitate  to  go  right  onward  in  duty,  to 


78  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

meet  the  claims  of  others,  however  weighty, 
to  speak  the  direct  words  of  truth,  or  to  make 
the  urgent  personal  appeal,  however  difficult  it 
may  sometimes  seem  ;  for  he  will  feel  that  not 
in  his  own  strength  does  he  stand,  and  that  he  is 
but  the  minister  of  One  whose  word  of  eternal 
truth  remains  sure  and  for  ever :  "  My  strength 
shall  be  made  perfect  in  thy  weakness." 

To  every  such  teacher  we  would  say,  first  of 
all,  cherish  a  just  .and  trae  faith  in  those  whom 
you  teach.  Going  from  week  to  week  to  your 
little  class,  accustomed  to  the  same  routine,  meet- 
ing the  same  familiar  faces,  often  repulsed  by  the 
cold  w^ord,  the  indifferent  spirit,  or  the  careless 
manner,  witnessing  no  immediate  fruits  of  your 
labors,  called  on  again  and  again  to  repeat  the 
same  simple  explanations,  and  often  seeking,  ap- 
parently in  vain,  to  fix  the  wandering  attention, 
you  need  to  cherish  a  deep,  abiding,  and  real- 
izing sense  of  the  unspeakable  worth  and  value 
of  every  soul;  to  realize  that  you  are  speaking, 
not  to  the  mere  transient  beings  of  a  summer's 
day,  but  to  immortal  spirits, —  spirits  that  cannot 
die  ;  spirits  which  the  Eternal  Father  created  and 
loves,  and  for  which  Christ  lived  and  died  ;  souls, 
one  moment  of  whose  conscious  existence  infolds 
greater  mysteries  than  the  most  profound  philos- 
ophy can  disclose;  capable  of  rising  upwards  to 
heights  of  glory,  purity,  and  holiness,  now  faintly 
imagined  even  in  its  highest  and  boldest  aspifa- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  79 

tions,  or  of  sinking  into  that  spiritual  darkness 
and  death  which  He,  who  well  knew  the  strength 
and  the  weakness,  the  good  and  the  evil,  in  each 
human  soul,  so  fearfully  and  so  solemnly  imaged 
as  the  region  of  outer  darkness,  "  where  the 
worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched." 

Study  your  own  soul.  Look  searchingly  and 
carefully  within.  Learn  its  powers  and  capaci- 
ties of  progress  and  advancement,  its  powers  of 
thought  and  aspiration  and  growing  holiness, 
its  capacities  of  love  and  sympathy  and  self- 
sacrifice,  and  of  heavenly  faith  and  communion  ; 
read  within,  in  every  line  and  fibre  of  your  intel- 
lectual and  moral  being,  the  hand  of  the  Al- 
mighty Creator,  for  ever  pointing  out  your  true 
relationship  to  him,  in  a  holy,  child-like  depend- 
ence, and  teaching  you  to  turn  away  from  all 
self-reliance  and  self-worship  to  Him  who  dis- 
cerneth  the  very  thoughts  afar  off,  without  whose 
intimate,  constant  presence  in  the  soul  not  even 
thought  could  perform  its  simplest  functions  or 
the  spirit  wing  one  earnest  aspiration  upward. 
Learn,  from  close  self-examination,  from  a  trvie 
and  just  self-knowledge,  springing  from  the 
depths  of  lowly  prayer,  and  holy  communion, 
and  a  sense  of  inward  want  and  deficiency; 
learn,  too,  the  reality  of  the  soul's  sinfulness,  of 
its  alienation  from  God,  of  the  perversion  of  its 
noble  powers,  and  the  waste  of  its  glorious  in- 
heritance :  learn    that   in    itself  it  is   weak   and 


80  BEOINNIXG    AND    GROAVTn 

helpless  and  sinfal,  and  that  only  through  the 
divine  renewal  can  it  be  brought  into  its  true 
relationship  with  the  Unseen,  — that  only  through 
its  second  and  true  birth  into  the  spiritual  life 
can  it  know  aught  of  the  blessedness  of  recon- 
ciliation and  pardon,  and  of  oneness  with  God 
through  Christ. 

Look  earnestly  and  truly  within ;  and  as  the 
great  facts  of  your  moral  being  become  distinctly 
imaged  to  your  soul,  as  they  become  eternal  re- 
alities to  you,  far  more  than  the  mere  transient 
events  and  fading  glitter  of  the  outward  world, 
as  you  contemplate  the  soul's  immortal  destiny, 
and  the  momentous  results  that  flow  from  its 
present  solemn  choice  between  the  great  oppos- 
ing forces  that  now  divide  the  moral  universe, 
you  will  feel  more  and  more  that  in  every  hu- 
man spirit  there  are  infolded  powers  and  capaci- 
ties, heights  and  depths  of  being,  far  transcend- 
ing in  grandeur  and  solemn  interest  a  whole  uni- 
verse of  material  worlds.  As  this  consciousness 
becomes  indelibly  impressed  on  your  soul,  you 
will  meet  your  pupils  from  week  to  week,  no 
longer  in  mere  outward  form,  but  with  the  abid- 
ing conviction  that  you  are  holding  communion 
with  immortal  souls ;  with  an  assured  faith  that 
in  every  child,  however  ignorant,  however  unin- 
teresting to  the  common  observer,  however  care- 
less or  indifferent,  th^^re  dwells  a  living  spirit, — 
a  spirit  that  shall  stili  ixist  when  suns  and  worlds 


OF    THE    CIIKISTIAN    LIFE.  81 

and  countless  systems  shall  have  passed  from 
being. 

Could  every  teacher  come  to  his  class  from 
Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  "penetrated  with  a  living 
conviction  of  the  grandeur,  the  infinitude,  the 
preciousness  of  the  soul  of  every  pupil ;  could  he 
escape  from  the  benumbing  influences  of  habit, 
and  the  constant  tendency  of  details  to  fritter 
away  reverence  and  tame  wonder  down  ;  could 
he  keep  his  realizing  perception  of  what  a  soul  is 
as  vivid  as  if  the  revelation  of  it  were  made  each 
instant  afresh  to  his  own  mind, —  it  is  safe  to 
say,  not  merely  that  harvests,  richer  than  his 
boldest  hope  dared  dream  of,  would  crown  his 
toil,  —  an  unprecedented  intensity  touching  his 
Christ-like  lips  with  inspiration,  and  clothing 
every  word  with  wings  of  fire,  —  but  also  that  a 
zeal  for  the  task  would  seize  on  his  own  heart, 
sending  him  to  it  with  an  impulse  that  he  could 
not  keep  back,  and  would  make  his  every  mes- 
sage like  a  chapter  from  the  gospel  of  life." 

Have  faith,  we  repeat,  in  those  ivhom  you  teach. 
Cherish  a  trusting  confidence  in  the  child.  Be- 
lieve that  your  fervent  prayers  of  intercession  in 
his  behalf  will  assuredly  be  answered,  though  it 
may  be  in  a  way  and  at  a  time  now  unknown 
to  you.  Have  faith,  that,  if  under  God  you  can 
awaken  or  strengthen  in  that  young  soul  a  desire 
and  a  longing  for  its  heavenly  inheritance.  One, 
to  whom  that  spirit's  life  is  infinitely  precious, 


82  BEGINNING    AN:j    GROAVTII 

will  ever  work  with  and  in  him  both  to  will  and 
to  do,  of  his  good  pleasure. 

Have  faith  in  what  you  teach  ;  for  it  is  the 
eternal  truth  of  God ; —  not  mere  facts  of  human 
wisdom,  not  the  traditions  of  human  authority, 
not  the  perplexing  theories  of  philosophers,  not 
the  vain  speculations  of  the  theorist,  or  the  mere- 
ly fanciful  dreams  of  the  spiritualist,  are  you 
called  on  to  weigh,  discuss,  and  teach  ;  but  those 
simple,  solemn,  and  sublime  truths,  which  consti- 
tute the  very  essence  and  attributes  of  the  Eter- 
nal, which  God  has  written  in  part  on  the  soul 
itself,  and  which  he  has  yet  more  clearly  revealed 
through  the  life  and  mission  of  his  Son. 

Never  feel  that  it  is  your  truth  that  you  are 
imparting,  for  such  teaching  may  well  prove  vain. 
Speak  in  the  Master's  name  and  spirit,  with  faith 
that  his  teachings  received  into  the  soul  can  re- 
move even  mountains  of  sin  and  evil.  Believe 
in  his  divine  power.  Cherish  the  full  assurance 
that  He  who  at  a  single  touch  could  send  the 
thrill  of  life  through  the  palsied  limb,  and  whose 
word  alone  poured  light  upon  eyes  long  quenched 
in  gloom  and  darkness,  can  equally  awaken  the 
soul  from  its  lethargic  slumber  of  indifference 
and  sin,  and  shed  celestial  light  over  its  darkened 
being. 

Measure  not  the  divine  power  by  your  own 
weakness  and  helplessness ;  distrust  not  the  di- 
vine resources.      Think  not,  that,  because  you 


OF    THE    CHRISTIxVN    LIFE.  83 

witness  no  present  fruits,  the  seed  of  truth  con- 
tains no  germ  of  a  living  life. 

"  God  moves  iii  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform  "  ; 

and  often  may  verdure  and  bloom  and  gladness 
spring  forth  in  souls  which  to  human  sight 
seemed  all  waste,  barren,  and  unfruitful. 

Rest  5'our  confidence  firmly  and  exclusively 
on  the  word  of  God,  and  accept  his  promises  as 
addressed  to  you  personally.  By  faith  go  forth 
and  labor,  and  through  faith  endure,  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible ;  relying  not  on  what  you 
can  accomplish  or  perform,  but  only  on  what 
God  has  promised  to  do  in  and  through  you. 

So  cherish  a  true  and  just,  though  humble, 
faith  in  your  'power  to  teach.  There  is  such  a 
thing  as  a  vain  self-distrust,  and  a  false  humility, 
based,  not  on  a  Christ-like  lowliness  of  spirit, 
but  on  a  lack  of  confidence  in  God,  and  a  ques- 
tioning of  the  divine  omnipotence.  It  hesitates 
to  speak  and  act,  not  so  much  from  conscious 
weakness  and  ignorance  as  from  an  unwilling- 
ness to  trust  in  the  divine  promise,  to  give  itself 
wholly  up  to  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  and  to 
become  simply  the  conscious  and  willing  me- 
dium of  the  divine  blessing  to  other  souls.  It 
seeks  to  work  in  its  own  way,  to  lay  out  its 
own  plans,  to  accomplish  something  great  and 
noble  as  of  itself,  —  instead  of  laying  its  firm 
hold  on  the  Divine  hand  let  down  for  its  guid- 
8 


84  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

ance  and  support.  Such  self-distrust,  such  easy 
discouragement,  has  never  learned  the  lesson  of 
a  true  self-renunciation  ;  for  too  often  it  arises 
from  an  undue  self-appreciation,  which  asks  not 
in  lowly  prayer  only  to  be,  in  GocVs  own  way, 
a  ministering  servant  unto  others. 

Let  the  teacher  cherish  an  earnest  desire  to 
carry  the  message  of  Christ's  truth  to  other  souls, 
relying  solely  on  his  promise  of  help  and  blessing  ; 
let  him  cherish  a  living  faith  in  those  ivhom  he 
teaches,  in  the  eternal  reality  of  ivhat  he  teaches, 
and  he  will  seldom  doubt  his  power  to  teach. 
He  will  no  longer  be  anxiously  questioning  what 
others  may  think  of  him,  or  whether  his  success 
be  greater  or  less;  but  the  truth  realized  in  his 
own  secret  consciousness,  the  love  of  Christ  fill- 
ing his  soul,  will  compel  him  to  the  work.  It 
will  be  harder  for  him  to  refrain  from  entering 
the  field,  or  to  quit  the  service,  than  to  toil  ear- 
nestly, laboriously,  and  truly.  He  knows  that 
his  Master  is  there,  and  under  his  standard  would 
he  endure  the  same  toils  and  difficulties,  humbly 
trusting  likewise  to  share  with  him  the  same 
eternal  joy  and  blessedness. 

Have  faith,  then,  in  your  power  to  teach ;  for, 
as  it  was  given  to  the  early  disciples,  in  the  hour 
of  danger  and  of  trial,  what  they  ought  to  speak, 
even  so  shall  your  soul,  resting  wholly  upon  God, 
be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  and  your  tongue  shall 
be  kindled  as  with  the  fire  of  inspiration,  and 


OF    THE    CniUSTIAN    LIFE.  85 

your  lips  shall  glow  with  the  burning  utterance 
of  truth. 

Look  upward  ever.  Catch  your  inspiration 
from  the  Saviour's  own  lips.  Grasp  the  hand 
even  now  stretched  forth  to  guide  and  lead  you. 
Accept  the  proffered  help  and  the  tender  sym- 
pathy. Be  of  good  courage  ;  rise,  for  it  is  no 
human  voice,  but  the  Master  that  calleth  thee, 
that  bids  thee  cast  aside  the  fear  and  the  doubt 
and  the  hesitancy,  and  to  enter  joyfully  and  cour- 
ageously into  his  service.  He  bids  thee  gird  on 
the  armor  and  put  on  the  breast-plate  of  faith 
and  love,  and,  "  strong  in  utter  weakness,''  to  be 
his  now  and  for  ever. 

How  has  this  earnest,  conscious,  trusting  faith 
shed  the  brightest  radiance  over  the  darkest  pas- 
sages of  human  life,  and  enriched  its  barren  and 
desolate  wastes  with  a  heavenly  beauty  and  a 
divine  glory  I  Its  light  has  pierced  the  captive's 
cell,  and  often  poured  its  holiest  beams  amid  the 
gloom  and  darkness  of  the  dungeon ;  it  has 
cheered  the  wanderer  on  his  solitary  path,  and 
strengthened  the  lonely  missionary  to  deeds  of 
noble  self-sacrifice  and  cheerful  self-renunciation  ; 
it  has  filled  the  home  of  the  poor  with  riches  far 
surpassing  the  splendor  and  the  glory  of  Solo- 
mon, —  and  by  its  side,  in  the  rich  man's  home, 
the  countless  treasures  of  wealth  and  luxury  look 
dim  and  pale ;  it  lights  the  brow  of  childhood 
with  a  gentler  beauty,  and  places  the  crown  of 


86  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

patient  endurance  on  the  head  of  saintly  woman- 
hood ;  it  sheds  it«i  own  holy  and  blessed  radiance 
around  the  bed  of  sickness  and  of  suffering,  and 
encircles  the  brow  of  the  dying  with  a  celestial 
glory ;  and  over  the  silence  of  the  grave  it  places 
the  unfading  bow  of  celestial  promise,  encircling 
both  worlds  in  its  beautiful  embrace,  and  whis- 
pering in  gentle  accents  those  inspiring  words, 
"  He  is  not  here,  he  is  risen." 

How  many  and  noble  have  been  the  instances 
in  which  this  living  faith  has  girded  even  the 
fearful  and  timid  soul  to  deeds  of  noble  heroism 
and  sublime  sacrifice,  and  enabled  the  spirit  to 
press  patiently  and  faithfully  onward  in  daily 
duty,  even  though  surrounded  by  darkness,  trial, 
and  discouragement !  How  is  the  cold  hesitancy 
of  the  mere  worldling,  and  the  timid  faith  of  the 
half-believer,  rebuked  by  these  examples  of  a  holy 
and  sublime  trust,  —  the  world's  richest  and  no- 
blest inheritance ! 

When  we  read  of  the  noble  "  Apostle  to  the 
Indians,"  who  so  richly  merited  this  significant 
title,  devoting,  in  entire  faith,  the  powers  of  a 
strong  intellect  and  the  vigorous  years  of  a  faith- 
ful and  active  life  to  the  laborious  task  of  trans- 
lating the  Scriptures  into  an  unwritten  and  sav- 
age tongue,  that  he  might  better  convey  the  Gos- 
pel of  divine  truth  to  the  unlettered  and  ignorant 
tribes  among  whom  he  so  zealously  labored ; 
when  we  remember  the  devoted    Cheverus,  in- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  87 

flamed  with  an  equal  zeal  and  faith,  encoun- 
tering hardship  and  severe  privations  amid  the 
primeval  forests  ol'  Maine,  surrounded  by  unciv- 
ilized Indians,  or  lovingly  and  unostentatiously 
laboring  among  scenes  of  poverty,  distress,  and 
pestilence  in  the  crowded  streets  of  the  me- 
tropolis of  New  England,  or  when  in  the  Arch- 
bishop's palace,  surrounded  by  luxury,  wealth, 
and  refinement,  the  great  and  the  noble  deemed 
it  an  honor  to  claim  him  as  their  guest  whom 
no  elevation,  no  worldly  distinction  or  power, 
could  render  less  simple  and  loving  or  less  de- 
voted to  his  Master's  work  ;  when  we  recall  the 
native  enthusiasm  of  Loyola,  first  baptized  and 
consecrated  by  a  religious  faith  and  hope  on  the 
couch  of  sickness  and  suffering,  which,  to  human 
sight,  seemed  destined  to  destroy  his  fondest 
hopes  and  anticipations,  but  by  the  divine  bless- 
ing became  to  him  as  the  entrance  to  a  new 
and  spiritual  life,  —  his  soul  being  so  pervaded 
and  filled  with  ardent  zeal  and  an  aspiring  faith, 
that  henceforth  no  effort  was  too  laborious,  no 
sacrifice  too  great,  no  suffering  too  severe,  for 
him  to  encounter  in  the  service  of  his  Lord ; 
w^hen  we  remember  Luther's  bold  promulgation 
of  the  Apostolic  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  alone,  by  which  he  turned  the  world  upside 
down,  breaking  the  chains  of  a  self-righteous 
morality  and  a  self-sufficient  piety ;  when  we 
remember  Wilberforce,  with  a  Christ-like  faith 
8*  ■  • 


88  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

and  love  toiling  for  years  amid  opposition,  ob- 
loquy, and  scorn  in  the  great  cause  of  human 
brotherhood  and  freedom  ;  when  we  go  back  in 
thought  to  those  earlier  days  of  the  Church,  when 
the  acknowledgment  of  a  Christian  faith  was  the 
seal  of  persecution  and  death,  and  remember 
those  whose  only  homes  were  among  the  cata- 
combs of  the  imperial  city  or  in  wild  and  desert 
places,  their  only  refuge  from  the  bitter  tyranny 
of  oppression;  when  we  number  the  long  ar- 
ray of  noble  witnesses  to  Christ;  of  martyrs, 
ambitious  only  to  suffer  for  their  Master;  of 
holy  men  in  every  age,  who  have  loved  truth 
more  than  worldly  honor  and  distinction ;  of 
reformers,  who  have  boldly  braved  sceptical 
taunts  and  cold  sneers,  and  wnth  unflinching 
purpose  pressed  boldly  on  in  their  earnest  en- 
deavors for  the  attainment  of  a  higher  truth  and 
right;  of  missionaries,  true  to  their  calling  in 
the  midst  of  discouragement  and  weakness, 
counting  it  all  joy  if  they  might  plant  the  sin- 
gle seed  of  truth,  perchance  the  germ  of  future 
harvests  alone ;  when  such  men  as  Schwartz 
and  Martyn,  Boardman,  Judson,  and  Hall,  Nefl", 
and  Oberlin,  rise  before  us  in  their  self-sacrificing 
devotedness  and  holy  trust;  when  we  recall  the 
names  of  those  less  conspicuous  to  the  world's 
eye,  but  none  the  less  true  and  devoted  in  a  dif- 
ferent sphere,  —  the  noble  Lady  Huntington,  the 
practical  Hannah   Moore,  the  zealous  Catharine 


OF    THE    CnRISTIAN    LIFE.  80 

Adorna,  the  gentle  Elizabeth  Carter,  the  self- 
sacrificing  Mrs.  Fry,  the  true  and  faithful  Mary- 
Ware,  —  we  feel  that  there  is  a  reality  in  the 
Christian  faith,  a  power  to  lift  the  soul  above  all 
selfish  considerations,  to  transform  it  into  the 
Saviour's  image,  and  to  make  it  one  with  God. 
We  can  no  longer  question  or  coldly  doubt  its 
divine  and  inherent  force,  for  its  quickening 
pulse  beats  through  our  veins,  and  its  sympa- 
thetic thrill  nerves  our  weak  and  often  faint  en- 
deavors, as  we  read  of  that  glorious  crowd  of 
witnesses,  who,  having  maintained  a  good  con- 
fession, have  entered  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 

Not  alone  to  those  distinguished  by  peculiar 
trials  or  sufferings,  or  occupying  conspicuous 
stations  in  life,  would  we  look.  We  w^ould  also 
remember  those  whose  path  has  been  among  the 
sheltered  scenes  of  life,  in  homes  of  holy  love ; 
whose  daily  toil  has  been  sanctified  by  the  spirit 
of  prayer;  whose  self-sacrificing  devotedness  to 
others  has  been  surpassed  by  none  for  whom 
the  world  claims  the  crown  of  an  immortal  saint- 
ship  ;  who  have  patiently  watched  by  the  couch 
of  lingering  disease  and  chronic  infirmity,  and 
calmly  stood  by  the  dying-bed  of  those  most 
dear,  commending  the  parting  soul,  in  the  spirit 
of  an  entire  submission  and  a  holy  trust,  to  the 
Father  of  all.  We  would  remember  those  who, 
in  the  Saviour's  spi-rit,  have  gathered  the  wan- 
dering and  outcast,  the  children  of  ignorance  and 


90  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 

Bin,  and  in  simple  reliance  on  the  divine  woru 
of  promise,  have  gone  from  house  to  house, 
breaking  to  them  the  bread  of  life  ;  those  who 
have  been  unwearied  amid  the  cares  and  per- 
plexities of  daily  life,  and  whose  lamp  of  love 
has  ever  been  kept  trimmed  and  burning ;  who 
through  faith  in  God  have  met  discouragement 
and  disappointment,  and  transformed  every  trial 
into  a  means  of  heavenly  growth  and  progress. 

As  this  nearer  cloud  of  witnesses  gathers 
around  us,  with  their  words  of  holy  love,  as  we 
recognize  the  familiar  countenances  of  those  who 
have  cheered  us  on  life's  pilgrimage,  or  the  secret 
and  hallowed  influence  of  whose  characters  has 
quickened  in  our  souls  a  nobler  aspiration  and 
a  holier  trust,  we  feel  and  believe  more  deeply 
the  reality  of  that  spirit  of  faith  through  which 
they  conquered,  and  by  which  we  also  may  at- 
tain. It  is  no  longer  a  mere  word,  but  a  working 
force  and  an  active  power,  felt  in  the  secret  depths 
of  the  soul,  bringing  it  into  a  nearer  communion 
with  the  Saviour's  spirit,  and  into  a  holier  har- 
mony with  God. 

When,  in  the  hour  of  secret  thought  and  heav- 
enly communion,  the  Christian  teacher  remem- 
bers those  committed  to  his  charge,  and  bears 
them  in  his  heart  in  his  earnest  prayer  of  inter- 
cession, let  him  ever  pray  in  this  spirit  of  con- 
fiding faith,  looking  not  for  immediate  suc- 
cess or   an  earthly  recompense   of  reward,  but 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  91 

believing  that  every  seed  of  holy  and  right  en- 
deavor, however  humble,  will  bear  its  true  and 
ripened  fruit, 

"  In  those  everlasting  gardens, 
Where  angels  walk,  and  seraphs  are  the  wardens  ; 
Where  every  flower  brought  safe  through  death's  dark  portal 
Becomes  immortal." 


92  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    VII. 

QUALIFICATIONS     OF     THE     TEACHER.  MENTAL 

ENDOWMENTS    AND    SPECIAL    PREPARATION. 


"  To  serve  the  present  age, 
My  calling  to  fulfil, 
0,  may  it  all  my  powers  engage 
To  do  my  Master's  will  !  " 


Having  spoken  of  some  of  the  spiritual  traits 
of  character,  and  the  heart  qualifications,  to  be 
faithfully  sought  and  cultivated  by  every  true 
teacher,  we  would  now  pass  to  considerations  of 
a  more  intellectual  nature,  and  to  those  mental 
qualities  essential  to  render  one  a  successful  and 
effective  teacher  of  the  young. 

Going  into  almost  any  of  our  Sunday  schools, 
and  carefully  watching  the  working  of  the  whole 
system  as  it  now  exists,  the  observer  is  at  once 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  there  are  not  ap- 
parent that  progress,  order,  unity,  and  system, 
w^hich  so  strikingly  characterize  the  best  con- 
ducted of  our  public  schools.  Children  of  all 
ages  and  capacities  are  admitted,  and  often 
classed  with  little  reference  to  their  various  de- 


OB^  thp:  christian  life.  93 

grees  of  mental  and  moral  advancement ;  they 
remain  with  the  same  teacher  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time,  too  often  according  to  the  mere 
caprice  of  the  child  or  the  wishes  or  capacity  of 
the  teacher ;  they  are  then  transferred  to  another 
class ;  the  manual  already  used  for  many  months 
is  perhaps  recommenced  ;  often  the  teacher  or 
superintendent  makes  no  thorough  examination 
of  the  pupil,  to  ascertain  the  true  amount  of  his 
knowledge,  and  months  and  even  years  are  passed 
without  any  definite,  real  progress  being  made. 
Sabbath  after  Sabbath  he  attends,  but  finds  that 
no  more  knowledge  is  imparted  to  him  than  he 
has  already  gained  by  a  cursory  study  of  his  pre- 
scribed lesson  at  home.  He  has  learned  the  first 
lessons  of  religious  truth,  committed  the  simple 
hymns  of  childhood,  studied  the  Gospels  with 
the  aid  of  some  manual  or  commentary,  and 
then,  finding  that  no  new  field  of  thought  and 
inquiry  is  open  to  him,  he  naturally  becomes 
indifferent  to  his  lessons  ;  the  school  hour  offers 
no  excitement,  no  stimulus^  to  his  mental  powers, 
and  an  irregular  attendance  or  a  divided  atten- 
tion soon  manifests  his  loss  of  interest. 

Is  such  a  result  the  fault  of  the  child  or  the 
youth  alone,  as  the  teacher  is  too  apt  tolmagine  ? 
As  he  attends  the  day-school,  he  is  conscious 
from  week  to  week  of  progress,  —  that  most 
powerful  stimulus  to  every  aspiring,  active  mind, 
and  he  is  sure  of  finding  in  his  teacher  one  capa- 


94  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

ble  of  leading  him  on  in  bis  studies,  and  direct- 
ing his  inquiries ;  and  if  faithful  to  himself,  he 
knows  that,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  he  will 
stand  on  a  higher  plane  than  at  its  commence- 
ment. His  powers  are  taxed,  his  capacities  de- 
veloped, his  reason  and  judgment  strengthened 
Dy  use,  his  imagination  roused,  and  his  curiosity 
excited.  When  he  turns  to  the  Sabbath  school, 
he  feels  a  want  of  impetus,  a  want  of  systematic 
progress,  of  growing  intellectual  attainment.  We 
have  known  a  child  kept  for  two  or  three  years 
studying  the  same  little  catechism  or  manual, 
because  the  whole  was  not  faithfully  committed 
to  memory,  to  be  recited  verbatim^  until  its  very 
sight  awakened  a  feeling  of  disgust.  Now,  thor- 
ough teaching  we  would  advocate  as  strongly 
and  as  urgently  as  any  one,  but  we  are  very  sure 
that  thoroughness  is  not  to  be  attained  in  this 
mechanical,  dispiriting  way.  We  remember  at- 
tending once  the  examination  of  a  high  school, 
in  company  with  a  friend  whose  Sabbath  scholars 
were  pupils  of  the  institution,  and  recollect  the 
astonishment  she  expressed  in  finding  them  so  far 
advanced  in  their  studies,  capable  of  performing 
difficult  problems  in  mathematics,  and  of  passing 
a  good  elcamination  in  natural  philosophy,  gi*am- 
mar,  French,  &c.  It  was  a  speaking  and  em- 
phatic rebuke  for  her  own  neglect  in  ascertaining 
the  true  capacities  of  her  pupils,  and  in  prepar- 
ing herself  to  meet  their  higher  and  more  spirit- 
ual wants. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  95 

Is  not  such  fne  case  in  a  greater  or  less  clegi*ee 
in  all  our  schools  ?  Must  there  not  be  a  growth 
in  some  degree  commensurate  with  the  progress 
made  in  our  secular  schools,  if  we  would  have 
the  instructions  of  the  Sabbath  vital  and  life- 
giving  ?  Mast  we  not  have  a  more  definite  sys- 
tem of  instruction,  a  more  regular,  progressive, 
thorough  course  of  study  pursued,  commencing 
with  the  child's  earliest  years,  and  continuing 
until  he  leaves  the  school,  or  takes,  himself,  the 
place  of  a  teacher  ? 

Not  that  we  would  advocate  a  slavish  con- 
formity to  a  prescribed  rule,  or  feel  that  every 
child  needed  or  was  capable  of  pursuing  the 
same  course  of  study.  This  would  be  utterly 
impossible  in  the  present  state  of  our  schools, 
where  some  children  attend  but  few  months, 
others  a  year,  and  others  still  many  years.  If 
the  instructions  were  more  definitely  systema- 
tized, and  the  schools  better  classified,  we  be- 
lieve that  much  might  be  done  towards  the  at- 
tainment of  this  end. 

As  the  first  essential  step  towards  such  a  de- 
sirable attainment,  as  the  first  requisite  to  meet 
this  imperative  need  of  our  schools  as  they  now 
exist,  we  would  speak  of  the  necessity  of  teach- 
ers being  truly  qualified  for  their  work. 

Many  seem  to  feel,  that,  intellectually  speak- 
ing, a  general  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  Gospel 
history  is  all  that  is  needed  to  enable  them  to 
9 


96  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

become  teachers  of  the  young;  that,  .f  they  can 
hear  the  simple  lessons  recited,  or  give  some  gen- 
eral explanations  gleaned  hastily  from  a  popular 
commentary,  it  is  all  that  is  essential. 

Here  lies  a  most  fatal  error;  for  how  are  re- 
ligious truths  to  be  rendered  attractive  and  in- 
teresting, without  thorough  preparation  on  the 
teacher's  part,  any  more  than  the  truths  of  sci- 
ence or  the  formulas  of  mathematics  ?  A  child 
is  far  less  easily  satisfied  than  an  adult  with  half- 
explanations  and  a  mere  superficial  knowledge, 
and  he  soon  discovers  whether  he  can  rely  upon 
his  teacher  for  real  assistance. 

Take  even  the  best  conducted  of  our  schools, 
and  how  few  of  the  teachers  could  pass  any  good 
examination  in  the  very  fundamentals  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  in  the  evidences  of  religion,  the  proofs 
of  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospels,  and  their  his 
tory  and  transmission  I  How  few,  too,  possess 
any  distinct  idea  of  the  harmony  of  the  Gospel 
narratives,  of  the  occasions  on  which  the  Epis- 
tles were  written,  and  the  causes  which  imme- 
diately dictated  them  ;  while  with  many  more 
the  Old  Testament,  with  its  rich  stores  of  biog- 
raphy, history,  poetry,  and  prophecy,  is  regarded 
with  utter  indifference;  and  the  origin  and  his- 
tory of  the  Jewish  faith  in  its  peculiar  relation 
to  Christianity  is  considered  as  of  little  moment! 
How  little  definite  information  does  there  exist, 
too,  of  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  the  general 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  97 

history  of  the  world,  of  its  influence  upon  art, 
civilization,  and  language ! 

Why  should  teachers,  thus  unprepared  by  a 
proper  course  of  study  for  their  work,  be  em- 
ployed in  our  Sabbath  schools  any  more  than  in 
our  common  schools  ?  Why  should  they  not 
be  required  to  pass  an  examination  in  certain 
studies  before  assuming  such  a  responsibility? 
Would  it  not  be  more  for  the  interests  of  our 
schools  in  general  to  have  fewer  teachers,  and 
these  thoroughly  fitted  for  their  work,  than  to 
have  so  much  vague,  indefinite  teaching  as  is 
now  often  given?  Much  as  we  approve  of  the 
division  of  our  schools  into  small  classes,  where 
alone  the  teacher  can  become  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  peculiar  dispositions,  w«nts, 
and  temptations  of  each  pupil,  and  thus  adapt 
his  instruction  accordingly,  we  have  sometimes 
thought  that  it  would  be  better  to  have  larger 
divisions,  under  the  care  of  competent  instruc- 
tors, than  to  have  so  many  uneducated  teachers 
employed. 

In  speaking  of  the  requisite  qualifications  of 
the  teacher,  we  would  not  be  unmindful  of  those 
who  are  in  heart  devoted  to  the  work,  but  who 
possess  little  leisure  or  opportunity  to  pursue  a 
course  of  intellectual  study,  or  an  examination 
into  the  higher  branches  of  Christian  truth. 

Minds  of  every  class  are  needed  among  us,  pro- 
vided they  are  only  awake,  earnest,  and  faithful. 


98  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

To  one  unable  to  learn  from  books  to  any  wide 
extent,  the  great  and  constantly  varying  lessons 
of  daily  life  are  ever  opened,  and  from  these  he 
may  draw  ceaseless  instruction. 

An  active,  inquiring  mind  is  the  first  inteL 
lectual  requisite,  —  a  mind  constantly  growing-^ 
constantly  gaining  new  accessions  of  strength 
and  power,  through  the  trials  and  joys,  the  duties 
and  the  discipline,  of  each  passing  day.  Every 
little  circumstance,  every  passing  incident,  every 
varied  phenomenon  of  the  outward  world,  may 
be  made  conducive  to  the  greater  interest  of  one's 
teachings ;  he  will  treasure  them  up  as  means  of 
illustrating  the  highest  spiritual  truths,  of  first 
awakening  the  curiosity  or  fixing  the  wandering 
attejation. 

For  instance;  one  Sabbath  morning,  a  class 
of  little  girls  had  for  their  appointed  lesson  a 
portion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The 
words  were  familiar  to  them,  and  half  a  dozen 
verses  were  correctly  repeated.  But  their  thoughts 
were  evidently  anywhere  but  on  the  lesson.  In- 
stead of  directly  reproving  them,  however,  or  in 
set  terms  asking  their  attention,  their  teacher 
showed  them  a  small  twig  of  the  chestnut-tree, 
which  she  had  carefully  broken  off  the  day  be- 
fore, and  began  by  explaining  to  them  the  won- 
derful manner  in  which  the  germ  of  the  new 
green  leaves  were  all  enfolded  in  the  bud,  so 
carefully  preserved  amid  the  snows  and  cold  of 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  99 

winter,  how  the  sap  circulated  through  each  mi- 
nute fibre,  and  the  warm  spring  sunshine  and 
the  gentle  rains  pierced  the  outer  casement,  until 
the  first  dehcate  green  of  the  leaf  appeared,  to 
be  so  soon  succeeded  by  the  darker  hue  and  the 
denser  shades  of  the  summer  foliage.  Her  ob- 
ject was  gained,  —  an  interest  was  excited;  and 
turning  again  to  the  simple  words,  "  Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field,"  a  lesson  upon  the  constant 
goodness  and  love  of  God  was  imparted,  which 
no  formal  repetition  of  truths  would  ever  have 
impressed. 

So  should  it  ever  be  with  the  teacher.  He 
should  never  feel  that  his  work  for  the  week  is 
finished,  when  he  has  studied  the  appointed  les- 
son or  when  the  school  hour  is  over.  His  prep- 
aration is  never  completed,  for  it  is  co- extensive 
with  his  moral  and  intellectual  advantages,  and 
with  the  whole  discipline  of  life.  The  best  and 
most  effective  preachers  are  those  who  the  most 
faithfully  garner  up  the  lessons  of  each  passing 
♦lay  and  make  them  conducive  to  the  highest 
ipiritual  ends  ;  and  so  is  it  with  the  Sunday- 
-school  teacher,  —  for  he  also  is  a  pastor,  he  also 
has  a  flock  committed  to  his  keeping,  and  equally 
momentous  and  solemn,  though  not  equally  ex- 
tensive, are  his  responsibilities. 

Such  a  daily  preparation  every  teacher  is  bound 
to  make,  however  limited  his  sphere  or  however 
narrow  his  means  of  intellectual  culture ;  and 
9* 


100  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

where  such  preparation  is  united  with  the  spirit- 
ual qualifications  already  considered,  we  shall 
always  find  effective,  useful,  and  faithful  teach- 
ers, though  they  may  not  be  qualified  to  carry 
on  their  pupils  in  the  study  of  the  highest 
branches  of  religious  truth. 

To  the  many  in  our  schools  who  have  enjoyed 
the  advantages  and  opportunities  of  a  more  lib- 
eral culture  we  would  say  emphatically,  that  the 
standard  of  intellectual  fitness  for  their  work  is 
altogether  too  low,  and  one  great  cause  of  the 
want  of  a  higher  and  truer  success. 

As  the  next  requisite  for  a  good  teacher,  we 
would  place  the  possession  of  definite,  clear,  and 
accurate  ideas  upon  the  subjects  taught.  It  is 
surprising  to  find  how  many  undertake  to  impart 
a  knowledge  of  the  most  momentous  of  all 
themes,  to  speak  upon  subjects  the  highest  and 
most  sublime  that  can  ever  occupy  the  human 
mind,  whose  own  views  are  crude,  unsettled, 
and  indefinite. 

New  truths  will,  of  course,  be  constantly  un- 
folding to  the  inquiring  mind,  but  there  must  be 
some  firm,  definite  substratum  of  faith,  on  which 
to  found,  any  real  progress ;  and  this  can  only  be 
gained  by  patient  thought,  careful  investigation, 
and  a  diligent  study  of  the  Word  of  Truth.  Ev- 
ery teacher  should  have  definite  ideas  of  the 
great  truths  of  Christian  doctrine, —  of  the  being 
and  attributes  of  God,  of  the  nature  and  offices 


OF    THE    CnRIfiTIAN    LIFE.  101 

of  Christ,  of  the  soul's  need  of  redemption,  of 
salvation  through  a  crucified  Saviour,  of  retribu- 
tion and  eternity.  These  views  should  be  dis- 
tinctly imaged  to  his  own  soul,  or  he  will  surely 
fail  in  imparting  them  distinctly  and  clearly  to 
others.  Can  they  be  obtained  simply  through  a 
mechanical  acceptance  of  the  truth  ?  Is  not  the 
teacher  thus  wronging  both  his  own  soul  and 
those  of  his  pupils  ?  Dogmatic  teaching  we  would 
be  far  from  advocating,  neither  would  we  have 
the  sacred  hours  of  the  Sabbath  devoted  to  the 
mere  critical  discussion  of  disputed  doctrines. 
But  if  the  teacher  would  faithfully  consider  the 
wants  of  his  pupils,  and  distinctly  meet  the 
questions  that  arise,  incidentally  at  least,  in  al- 
most every  lesson,  he  must  have  his  own  settled 
and  definite  views  of  truth.  He  must  constantly 
seek  for  such  ;  must  ever  inquire  more  and  more 
earnestly  into  the  hidden  secrets  of  divine  wis- 
dom ;  must  make  it  his  fixed  aim  to  attain  to 
clear  convictions  on  these  most  important  themes. 
Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  success  than  a  want 
of  clearness  in  the  teacher's  own  mind  ;  for  where 
a  subject  is  thoroughly  comprehended,  there  is 
seldom  a  lack  of  definite  expression.  Such  def- 
initeness  is  needed,  not  only  in  relation  to  the 
higher  themes  of  truth,  but  also  in  connection 
with  every  subject  embraced  within  the  wide 
range  of  Christian  teaching.  Take  the  simplest 
lesson,  and  let  it  be  repeated  in  a  merely  mechani- 


102  BEGINNING *AND    GROWTH 

cal  manner,  and  then  observe  how  difTercnt  will  be 
the  interest  excited,  if  the  teacher  be  able  to  illus- 
trate its  varied  incidents  and  truths  by  a  vivid 
description  of  the  places  mentioned,  by  an  accu- 
rate account  of  the  manners  and  customs  preva- 
lent at  the  time,  by  alluding  to  contemporary 
events,  and  showing  the  influence  of  Christianity 
in  moulding  the  habits  and  modes  of  life  of  va- 
rious nations.  Then  let  him  pass  on  to  the  clear 
enforcement  of  the  direct  truths  springing  from 
the  subject,  and  the  lesson  becomes  simply  the 
nucleus  for  imparting  a  large  amount  of  useful 
knowledge  and  high  spiritual  truth. 

The  practical  teacher  needs,  also,  to  cultivate 
the  habit  of  close  and  accurate  observation,  in 
order  to  store  his  mind  with  ready  illustrations, 
and  to  enable  him  the  more  easily  and  truly  to 
read  the  characters  of  those  committed  to  his 
care.  A  great  part  of  the  mistakes  and  failures 
in  our  schools  arise  from  the  true  nature  and 
character  of  the  pupil  being  misunderstood  ;  and 
this  power  or  capacity  of  comprehending  an- 
other mind  can  be  gained  only  by  a  faithful 
study  of  one's  own  spirit,  and  by  a  true  and  heart- 
felt sympathy  with  others,  united  with  a  quick 
perception  of,  and  a  close  attention  to,  all  those 
nameless  trifling  incidents  that  so  often  more 
clearly  reveal  the  true  character  than  any  striking 
act  or  great  deed. 

A  teacher  had  in  her  class  a  pupil  very  unin- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  103 

teresting  in  manners  and  appearance,  seemingly 
cold  and  indifferent,  and  who  could  rarely  be  in- 
duced to  answer  even  a  single  question  before 
others.  The  teacher  observed  her  attentively, 
but  could  gain  little  insight  into  her  real  charac- 
ter. One  Sabbath,  she  watched  the  changing 
expression  of  her  countenance,  and  the  anima- 
tion that  lighted  up  her  face,  as  she  read  the 
sublime  words  of  One  of  the  old  Hebrew  proph- 
ets. A  key  to  her  hitherto  concealed  feelings 
was  at  once  given.  Beneath  that  cold  exterior, 
and  diffident,  almost  repulsive  manner,  there  was 
a  hidden  enthusiasm,  a  deep  love  of  the  poetical, 
and  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful,  that  few 
understood.  The  teacher  at  once  addressed  her- 
self to  this  trait  of  character,  and  the  pupil  soon 
felt  that  she  was  no  longer  apart  from  others, — 
that  one,  at  least,  understood  and  sympathized 
with  her.  The  ice  was  broken  ;  confidence  took 
the  place  of  a  cold  reserve,  and  there  is  now  no 
more  interesting  and  attentive  pupil  in  the  class 

than  Ellen  B . 

This  same  habit  of  observation  should  also  be 
cultivated  with  regard  to  all  the  wonderful  phe- 
nomena of  the  outward  universe ;  for  what  more 
conducive  to  the  purity  and  elevation  of  the  soul 
than  an  habitual  communion  with  God  through 
his  works ;  and  what  more  fruitful  source  of  in- 
struction and  illustration  to  the  teacher  is  there 
thar    this  ?      A  love  of  what  is  beautiful  and 


104  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 

wonderful  in  the  creation  is  natural  to  the  child. 
To  his  opening  mind  everything  around  him  is 
full  of  mystery,  and  how  easy  to  lead  those  ques- 
tioning thoughts  up  to  the  great  Author  and 
Giver  of  all  good ! 

The  glad  sunshine  and  the  darkened  cloud,  the 
gentle  summer  shower  and  the  fierce  winter's 
storm,  the  delicate  spring  flower  and  the  gorgeous 
autumn  foliage,  the  tiny  pebble  on  the  seashore 
and  the  variegated  moss  that  fringes  the  moun- 
tain-pine, the  murmuring  stream  and  the  thun- 
dering cataract,  the  wild  music  of  the  ocean's 
ceaseless  roar,  and  the  solemn  cadence  of  the 
vast  and  mighty  forests,  —  all  are  full  of  lessons 
of  the  highest  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness; 
all  are  unfailing  sources  through  which  to  teach 
the  child  of  that  great  and  holy  Being,  upon 
whose  goodness  he  constantly  and  ceaselessly 
depends.  Still  greater  will  be  the  interest  ex- 
cited, if  to  the  mere  observation  and  love  of 
the  beautiful  in  nature  the  teacher  adds  some 
definite  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  science  and 
of  art,  and  is  able  to  illustrate  how,  in  the 
most  common  phenomena  of  daily  life,  the 
same  eternal  law  and  order  are  visible,  —  regu- 
lating the  falling  of  the  stor  i  from  the  green  hill- 
side and  guiding  the  mos^  iistant  planet  in  its 
vast  and  solemn  orbit,  painting  the  dew-drop  on 
the  summer's  morn  and  arching  the  heavens 
with  the  bow  of  eternal  promise,  touching  the 


OF    THE    CIHilSTIAN    LIFE.  105 

autumn  foliage  with  its  gorgeous  tints,  and  cov- 
ering the  mighty  waters  as  with  a  breastplate. 
Never  let  him  speak  of  these  laws,  or  of  the  reg- 
ular and  beautiful  order  of  nature,  as  mere  cold 
abstractions.  Let  him  teach  the  child  of  the 
Father's  hand,  as  the  one  sole  mover  and  up- 
holder of  all,  the  one  first  and  only  cause,  dwell- 
ing in  and  through  all  things,  whose  agency  is 
ceaselessly  present  in  each  ray  of  light,  each 
springing  blade  of  grass,  each  sparkling  dew-drop, 
and  each  changing  leaf;  whose  love  is  manifest 
in  the  choral  song  of  birds  and  the  humming  of 
insects,  and  the  gladness  of  all  animated  creation  ; 
in  the  freshness  and  brightness  of  the  early  morn, 
and  the  solemn  stillness  and  hushed  silence  of 
the  night  season  ;  in  the  fragrance  and  beauty  of 
the  simplest  flower,  and  the  ever-varying  and 
wonderful  beauty  of  the  passing  clouds,  arching 
the  heavens  as  with  a  divine  glory  and  radiance. 
Never  let  him  teach  of  the  powers  of  nature  as 
something  distinct  and  separate  from  God, —  as 
if  nature  were  a  perfect  machine,  once  set  in 
motion  and  eternally  reproducing  her  own  works, 
—  as  if  the  Eternal  dwelt  afar  off,  and  took  no 
immediate  care  or  concern  of  his  infinite  crea 
tion ;  but  let  him  teach  of  the  Omnipresent 
Father,  whose  power  is  as  directly  manifest  in 
the  summer  breeze  and  the  gently  waving  foliage 
as  in  the  mighty  whirlwind  and  fierce  winter's 
storm ;  who  blends  each  ray  of  glad  and  cheerful 


106  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

light  with  the  same  eternal  wisdom  and  power 
that  guide  Arcturus  and  Orion  in  their  courses, 
whose  watchfuhiess  is  as  direct  and  constant  over 
the  most  transient  insect  of  a  summer's  day  as 
over  the  movement  of  mighty  suns  and  systems. 

Let  the  thought  of  God's  constant  presence  be 
thus  brought  very  near  to  the  soul ;  let  it  be  in- 
wrought into  the  child's  daily  life  and  conscious 
existence  ;  let  it  be  so  inseparably  united  with  all 
his  varied  experience,  that  nothing  shall  ever 
shake  its  assured  reality  or  lead  him  to  doubt 
the  almighty  power,  the  eternal  wisdom,  and  the 
unchangeable  goodness  of  Him  upon  whom  he 
daily  and  hourly  depends,  —  whose  thoughts  are 
not  as  our  thoughts,  and  whose  ways  are  often 
inscrutable  and  past  finding  out;  but  w^ho,  in 
the  blessed  revelation  of  his  Son,  has  made 
himself  known  as  the  Father  of  all,  the  God  of 
perfect  love  and  holiness,  ever  abiding  with  the 
soul  that  turns  to  Him  with  a  child-like  confi- 
dence and  a  reverential  trust. 

The  teacher  needs  especially  a  thorough  and 
growing  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  He  should 
never  rest  satisfied  with  a  merely  general,  super- 
ficial acquaintance  with  their  contents,  or  feel 
that  he  has  ever  fathomed  their  full  meaning, 
for  the  study  of  a  lifetime  could  not  exhaust 
their  rich  treasures  of  spiritual  instruction.  He 
should  feel  it  to  be  his  duty,  as  well  as  his 
privilege,  to  be  constantly  gaining  new  light  from 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN       IFE.  107 

every  available  source,  to  be  seeking  new  and 
more  enlarged  views  of  truth  and  duty,  and  to 
enter  more  and  more  into  the  comprehension  of 
their  sublime  and  momentous  revelations.  He 
needs  not  rnerely  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  of 
the  Gospels,  but  a  definite  idea  of  the  harmony 
of  the  different  narratives,  of  the  convincing 
proofs  of  their  genuineness  and  authenticity, 
and  of  the  preservation  of  their  contents  from 
the  earliest  time,  amid  the  ignorance  and  super- 
stition of  the  Dark  Ages,  the  bitter  strife  and 
persecution  of  rival  sects,  and  the  domineering 
spirit  of  mere  partisanship  and  personal  ambi- 
tion. He  needs  also  to  study  carefully  the  Epis- 
tles, with  their  rich  treasures  of  thought  and  spir- 
itual experience,  and  to  become  familiar  with 
the  wi'itings  of  those  who  were  the  personal  dis- 
ciples and  immediate  followers  of  Christ,  who 
were  solemnly  commissioned  and  peculiarly  en- 
dowed by  him  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to 
spread  abroad  the  truth  which  he  lived,  suffered, 
and  died  to  establish  in  the  world.  The  writ- 
ings of  Paul,  particularly,  studied  carefully  and 
thoughtfully,  will  no  longer  be  regarded  as  ob- 
scure and  unedifying,  as  is  so  often  the  case 
even  with  intelligent  persons.  To  many  his 
Epistles  have  been,  and  will  ever  remain,  as 
sealed  books  ;  but  not  necessarily  so.  Let  them 
only  be  approached  in  the  wide  and  catholic 
spirit  in  which  they  were  written,  with  some 
10 


108  BEGTXNING    AND    GROWTH 

adequate  conception  of  their  general  design, 
scope,  and  purpose ;  let  them  be  read  carefully 
and  diligently,  without  reference  to  sect  or 
creed  or  party  ;  let  their  spirit  of  fervent  love, 
of  living  earnestness,  of  deep  spirituality  and 
kindling  faith,  be  in  some  measure  compre- 
hended and  felt,  and  they  cannot  be  read  or 
studied  without  advantage  and  interest.  New 
depths  of  thought,  new  forms  of  beauty,  new 
conceptions  of  truth,  will  constantly  reveal  them- 
selves to  the  diligent  seeker,  and  Paul  will  no 
longer  seem  as  a  mere  abstract  conception,  but 
as  a  living,  personal,  sympathizing  friend,  pre- 
eminently worthy  of  being  a  chosen  servant  of 
Christ,  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
preacher  of  Christianity  to  the  whole  world,  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  climes. 

The  Old  Testament,  with  its  rich  stores  of  life 
and  of  wisdom,  its  history  and  biography,  its 
poetry  and  prophecy,  is  regarded  by  many  at  the 
present  time  with  growing  or  utter  indifference, 
and  often  wholly  excluded  from  the  religious  in- 
struction of  the  young.  But  what  a  wide  field 
of  study  and  research  is  here  open  to  the  faithful 
teacher !  Extending  back  to  that  earliest  and 
unknown  period  of  time  when,  in  the  midst  of 
chaotic  darkness  the  sublime  mandate  was  first 
uttered,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and  thence  onward, 
through  succeeding  centuries,  and  the  varied  his- 
tory of  the  Jiuman  race,  when  the  darkness  of  igno- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  109 

ranee  and  sin  was  from  time  to  time  illuminated 
by  the  light  of  prophecy,  and  the  examples  of 
holy  and  faithful  men,  who  placed  a  firm,  im- 
plicit reliance  on  the  covenant  word  of  promise ; 
until,  as  the  ages  rolled  on,  the  brightness  of  a 
more  glorious  day  appeared,  "  shedding  light  on 
the  waning  star  of  Jacob  and  the  darkened  for- 
tunes of  the  house  of  David." 

The  teacher  needs,  especially,  to  have  some 
distinct  and  definite  understanding  of  the  true 
authority  of  these  separate  books,  so  rich  in  in- 
struction and  interest ;  to  be  well  versed  in  their 
ample  stores  of  biography  and  historical  Vv'ealth, 
and  to  be  especially  familiar  with  their  sublime 
strains  of  prayer  and  of  worship.  "  He  should 
also  be  conversant  with  the  leading  facts  of  eccle- 
siastical history,  the  geography  of  the  religious 
world,  the  distinctive  marks  of  the  chief  Chris- 
tian sects,  and  the  lives  and  services  of  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  different  ages  and  sections  of 
the  Church."  He  needs,  too,  to  have  distinct 
and  clearly  defined  views  upon  the  authority  of 
a  divine  revelation  as  established  and  confirmed 
by  miracle. 

At  the  present  time,  when  there  exists  so  much 
scepticism  upon  the  very  fundamentals  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  —  when,  by  many,  faith  is  merged  in 
scientific  knowledge,  and  all  truth  rejected  that 
cannot  be  fully  comprehended  by  human  reason 
or  measured  and  defined  as  by  geometrical  rule 


110  BEGiXNlNG    AND    GIJOWTII 

and  line  ;  when  cold  Rationalism  is  substituted 
for  ardent  piety,  and  a  self-sufficient  righteous- 
ness for  faith  in  Christ,  —  when  there  exists,  es- 
pecially among  those  just  entering  upon  early 
manhood,  so  much  love  of  doubting,  and  that 
pride  of  reason  which  is  constantly  questioning 
the  plainest  truths  of  revelation,  and  imagines 
that  it  is  exalting  itself  whenever  it  can  seeming- 
ly falsify  some  long-accepted  truth  by  the  skilful 
use  of  its  newly  acquired  logic,  though  it  leaves 
nothing  in  its  place  but  barren  formulas  and  a 
cold  scepticism,  —  the  Christian  teacher  needs, 
with  new  care  and  with  new  zeal  and  earnest- 
ness, to  re-examine  the  grounds  of  his  belief,  and 
to  be  sure  that  he  is^able  to  impart  to  others  defi- 
nite ideas  and  convincing  proofs  of  the  faith  he 
teaches. 

Let  him  not  vainly  endeavor  to  bound  his  in- 
structions or  his  faith  by  the  limitations  of  human 
knowledge,  or  be  afraid  sometimes  to  assert  on 
the  authority  of  Scripture  what  passes  his  own 
reason.  "  Every  great  spiritual  doctrine  termi- 
nates in  mystery,  by  the  very  necessity  of  spirit. 
The  essence  of  faith  is  a  reverential  confession 
of  the  limitations  of  sight."  So  should  the  teach- 
er, ever  seeking  higher  and  wider  views  of  truth, 
still  bow  in  reverential  awe  and  holy  trust  before 
the  Infinite  and  the  Unknown,  and  remember  that 
the  noblest  and  highest  intellect  can  only  exclaim, 
in  deep  humility,    "  How  unsearchable  are   his 


OF    THE    CIIIIISTIAX    LIFE.  lU 

judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out ! " 
"  Now  we  see  as  through  a  glass,  darkly  ;  but 
then  face  to  face  !  " 

He  should  seek,  by  the  faithful  use  of  every  op- 
portunity he  may  enjoy,  to  develop  and  strength- 
en his  mental  powers,  to  add  to  his  already  ac- 
quired knowledge,  and  to  enrich  his  mind  from 
the  treasures  of  literature,  art,  science,  and  po- 
etry. His  reason  should  be  often  employed 
upon  such  subjects  as  tax  the  powers  of  the 
mind,  and  require  real  thought  and  close  applica'- 
tion  ;  his  judgment  should  be  strengthened  by 
exercise  and  a  keen  observation  of  the  passing 
events  of  daily  life  ;  his  imagination  cultivated 
and  restrained,  and  his  taste^  purified  and  edu- 
cated,—  all  this,  not  merely  for  his  own  sake, 
but  to  render  him  better  qualified  to  teach  even 
the  simplest  truths  to  others.  Even  the  more 
abstruse  studies  of  mathematics,  or  the  acquire- 
ment of  foreign  languageeJ,  or  a  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  higher  walks  of  literature, 
will  not  be  as  useless  wealth  to  their  possessor; 
for  a  mind,  rich,  cultivated,  and  constantly  pro- 
gressing, will  ever  make  its  true  momentum  felt. 
How  magical  the  charm  that  such  a  mind  can 
throw  over  the  most  familiar  and  worn-out  truths, 
by  the  power  of  illustration  and  analogy,  by  a 
full  appreciation  of  the  subject,  and  a  good  de- 
gree of  enthusiasm  in  delineating  it  to  others  ! 

How  much  can  such  a  teacher  effect  in  form- 
10* 


112  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

ing  the  tastes  and  intellectual  habits  of  his  pu- 
pils, without  any  apparent  direct  effort  to  this 
end  I  He  can  stimulate  them  to  greater  diligence 
in  their  studies,  point  out  to  them  instructive  and 
useful  courses  of  reading,  interest  them  in  the 
wonders  of  science,  incite  them  to  higher  aims 
by  references  to  the  biographies  ,of  the  great  and 
good,  quicken  their  observation  of  the  boundless 
works  of  nature,  and,  through  his  own  active  and 
earnest  spirit,  insensibly  lead  them  to  loftier  aims 
and  nobler  attainments. 

A  teacher  thus  qualified  for  his  w^ork  will 
never  bound  his  instructions  by  any  given  man- 
ual. He  will,  indeed,  teach  thoroughly  and  sys- 
tematically, but  having  faithfully  studied  the 
given  lesson,  he  will  find  it  necessary  rather  to 
select  from  the  abundance  of  his  materials  than 
to  be  casting  about  to  discover  what  he  can  say, 
or  how  he  may  occupy  the  given  hour.  Like  the 
faithful  pastor,  he  will  be  constantly  gathering 
up  new  stores  of  wisdom,  and  well  feel  that  even 
his  leisure  hours  are  to  be  made  subservient  to 
his  highest  intellectual  and  moral  progress. 

Some  may  assert,  that  few  have  the  opportu- 
nity to  make  this  thorough  preparation  for  their 
work,  or  are  able  thus  to  fit  themselves  to  be 
teachers  to  the  more  advanced  pupils.  With 
many,  is  not  the  am,  the  desire^  rather  than  the 
ability  or  opportunity,  wanting?  Do  we  not 
often  find  among  those  who  are  the  most  busily 


OF  tiil:  christian  life.  113 

occupied  during  the  week  those  who  have  made 
the  most  self-improvement,  and  who  are  the  most 
faithful  in  seeking  to  prepare  themselves  for  their 
duties  as  teachers  ?  Often  those  who  have  en- 
joyed the  best  advantages  of  education,  and  who 
possess  the  most  leisure,  make  the  least  effective 
teachers ;  for  it  is  the  spij'it  and  the  earnest  desire 
of  improvement,  rather  than  the  amount  gained, 
that  constitute  the  true  momentuin  of  character. 
He  who  improved  the  two  talents  committed  to 
his  charge  received  the  same  commendation  with 
the  recipient  of  the  five  ;  it  was  the  slothful,  neg- 
ligent servant  who  was  rebuked  and  rejected. 

Were  this  higher  intellectual  culture,  this  spirit 
of  self-improvement,  regarded  as  essential  by  the 
teachers  of  our  schools,  we  should  no  longer 
complain  of  the  prevalent  want  of  progress.  If 
we  are  to  look  to  those,  now  pupils,  who  leave 
these  schools  from  year  to  year,  to  be  in  their 
turn  teachers  of  others,  how  imperative  the  need 
that  they  should  be  thoroughly  instructed  in  all 
the  branches  of  a  true  Christian  faith  I 

"  What  is  to  be  done  to  render  our  schools  more 
efficient  and  useful  ?  "  is  a  question  again  and 
again  asked.  We  reply  at  once,  and  emphati- 
cally, —  next  to  the  spiritual  culture  already  con- 
sidered,—  Educate  teachers  thorovghly  for  their 
work.  Begin  by  adopting  some  simple  criterion, 
by  requiring  some  definite  qualifications  in  the 
teacher,  ere  he  takes  charge  of  a  class,  how^ever 


114  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTU 

young  or  ignorant.  Enough  has  there  been  of 
mere  hap-hazard  teaching,  enough  of  random, 
indefinite  teaching.  Would  we  see  a  thorough 
reform  in  our  whole  system,  we  must  begin  at 
the  fountain-head.  It  must  be  distinctli/  under- 
stood^ that  no  one  can  become  a  teacher  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  without  due  preparation^  any 
more  than  a  teacher  in  a  public  day-school. 

Since  we  are  now  laboring  under  the  disad- 
vantages and  errors  resulting  from  this  want  of 
preparation,  and  of  personal  fitness  for  the  office, 
we  would  suggest,  as  some  remedy  for  the  evil, 
that  the  teachers  of  our  several  schools  be  re- 
quired to  meet  at  stated  times,  to  pursue  regular 
courses  of  reading,  study,  and  inquiry,  under  the 
direction  of  some  competent  teacher  or  superiji- 
tendent,  or  of  the  pastor,  if  he  have  the  leisure 
to  devote  to  this  end.  Let  every  teacher  who  is 
not  already  well  versed  in  the  subject  be  re- 
quired to  attend  such  meetings,  and  to  make 
himself  thoroughly  master  of  the  lesson.  Even 
one  hour  a  week  occupied  thus  systematically 
and  thoroughly  would  do  much  toward  the  bring- 
ing in  of  a  better  state  of  things,  especially  if 
it  were  distinctly  understood  that  none  but  those 
who  are  seeking  to  fit  tliemselves  for  the  work 
can  be  received  as  teachers. 

For  the  attainment  of  such  an  end,  every 
teacher  is  individually  responsible.  He  should 
magnify  his  office.     He  should  feel  the  solemn 


OF    THE    CIIRISTIAX    LIFE.  115 

obligation  that  rests  upon  him  to  render  his  own 
work  thofough  and  complete,  knowing  that  noth- 
ing can  be  trifling  or  worthless  that  has  an  eter- 
nal influence  over  other  souls;  and  that  only  as 
he  improves  his  daily  opportunities,  only  as  he 
cultivates  the  talents  committed  to  his  keeping, 
will  it  be  said,  in  the  solemn  day  of  account, 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant  ;  thou 
hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make 
thee  ruler  over  many  things :  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord." 


116  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


DUTIES    OF    THE    TEACHER. 


"  Soldiers  of  Christ,  arise  ! 
And  gird  your  armor  on  ! 
Strong  in  the  strength  which  God  supplies, 
Through  his  beloved  Son." 


The  disciple  of  Christ,  as  he  undertakes  the 
office  of  a  Christian  teacher,  asks  at  once  and 
earnestly,  What  are  some  of  the  peculiar  duties 
now  incumbent  on  me  ?  What  new  responsi- 
bilities do  I  incur,  as  I  enter  on  this  field  of  la- 
bor ?  What  direct  preparation  must  I  make  for 
meeting  my  class  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  in 
order  to  render  my  instructions  vital  and  effec- 
tive ? 

The  more  general  answers  to  these  questions 
have  already  been  given,  in  considering  the  spir- 
itual and  intellectual  qualifications  of  the  teach- 
er ;  but  there  are  yet  minor  details,  too  impor- 
tant to  be  wholly  passed  over,  implied,  indeed, 
in  what  has  already  been  said,  but  which  it  may 
be  well  to  consider  in  their  more  direct,  imn  t- 
diate  bearing. 


OF    THE    CIimSTIAN    I.IFK.  117 

First,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  set  apart 
some  regular  hour  for  the  faithful  study  and 
preparation  of  the  immediate  lesson  of  the  day. 
No  matter  how  familiar  he  may  be  with  its  con- 
tents, how  simple  is  the  instruction  to  be  given, 
or  how  young  or  ignorant  are  the  children  under 
his  care,  he  needs  carefully  to  consider  anew  the 
truth  he  seeks  to  impart,  to  study  it  in  all  its  va- 
rious bearings,  and  to  inquire  how  he  may  best 
apply  it  to  his  pupils.  He  needs  to  have  illustra- 
tions and  examples  fresh  in  his  niind,  to  be  a 
thorough  and  entire  master  of  his  subject,  that 
ne  may  never  be  at  a  loss  in  giving  the  needed  ex- 
planation or  in  imparting  the  desired  knowledge. 
Where  the  mind  has  been  chiefly  occupied  with 
other  duties  and  distracting  cares  during  the 
week,  this  hour  of  faithful  study  is  especially 
requisite;  for  if  the  teacher  resumes  the  thread 
of  his  instruction  where  it  was  suspended  the 
week  before,  with  no  intervening  thought,  no 
higher  progress  or  more  definite  knowledge  on 
his  own  part,  his  resources  will  very  soon  be  ex- 
hausted, to  say  nothing  of  the  decline  of  interest 
in  his  pupils. 

The  pastor  of  one  of  our  long-established 
churches  remarked,  not  long  since,  in  an  address 
to  the  teachers  of  his  school,  "  I  think  myself 
authorized  to  speak  on  this  point  with  some  con- 
fidence;  for,  though  I  have  made  the  Scriptures 
my  constant  and  critical   study  for  more  than 


118  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

twenty  years,  yet,  were  I  to  attend  the  exercises 
of  a  Sunday-school  class,  I  should  not  consider 
myself  right  and  safe  in  so  doing  without  special 
preparation  for  the  lesson  of  the  day With- 
out such  a  preparation,  the  exercise  will  dwindle 
into  a  mere  mechanical  recitation,  or  else  much 
of  what  is  said  w^ill  be  crude  and  undigested, 
some  of  it  inaccurate,  most  of  it  trivial  and  un- 
satisfying  Let  your  pupil  go  from  you  feel- 
ing that,  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Christ, 
both  in  the  intellectual  and  in  the  heart  knowl- 
edge, there  is  not  only  a  life-long  work,  but  that 

'  A  work  so  vast,  a  theme  so  high, 
Demands  and  crowns  eternity.'  " 

Secondly,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  make 
direct  spiritual  preparation  for  meeting  his  class ; 
that  is,  the  season  of  instruction  should  always 
be  preceded  by  the  hour  of  secret  and  devout 
prayer,  and  prolonged  communion  with  Christ; 
—  not  a  mere  formal  act  of  worship,  not  a  life- 
less petition  prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty,  the 
prayer,  not  of  form,  but  of  faith,  the  soul  holding 
a  true  and  conscious  intercourse  with  the  Unseen 
and  Eternal. 

A  faithful  intellectual  preparation  may  seem 
to  be  all-sufficient ;  but  such  teaching  will  soon 
be  found,  like  the  shining  glaciers  of  the  towering 
Alps,  brilliant  and  attractive  for  a  brief  season, 
but  ever  cold.  Thoiifi^h  the  soul  may  seek  to 
dwell  constantly  beneath  the  quickening  beams 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  119 

of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  it  needs  such  special 
seasons  to  reanimate  and  to  revivify  its  power, 
to  seek  renewedly  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  its  Vvdiole  being  may  be  permeated  and  filled 
as  with  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One. 

It  needs  to  watch  in  lowly  prayer  and  con- 
scious self-abasement  amid  the  shades  and  agony 
of  Gethsemane,  to  bow  in  deep  contrition  and 
penitence  before  the  cross  on  Calvary,  to  stand  in 
awe  and  joyous  faith  beside  the  broken  sepulchre, 
to  climb  in  earnest  prayer  and  holy  aspiration 
the  glorious  mount  of  ascension.  It  needs  to 
listen  to  the  inspiring,  animating,  gentle  tones 
of  the  Master's  voice,  to  feel  the  quickening  in- 
spiration of  his  presence,  to  place  the  hand  con- 
fidingly in  his,  and  with  unhesitating  faith  to 
accept  the  promise,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee."  It  needs  to  pass  through  the  mere  outer 
courts  of  the  great  spiritual  temple,  to  look  with- 
in the  veil,  and  to  enter  with  reverential  awe 
even  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  ;  and  alone,  in  that 
secret  sanctuary,  through  the  way  consecrated 
by  the  great  High-Priest  and  Intercessor,  to  hold 
communion  with  Him,  whose  presence  is  no 
longer  visibly  manifest  in  the  glory  and  the  cloud, 
as  of  old,  to  the  chosen  race  of  Israel,  but  now 
far  more  truly  and  for  ever  revealed  in  the  person 
of  the  Saviour. 

As  the  teacher  thus  goes  to  his  Sabbath  duties, 
seemingly  so  trifling  and  insignificant,  he  will 
11 


120  15  KG  INNING    AND    GROWTH 

feci  that  he  is  encompassed  by  "  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses "  ;  and  although,  in  the  performance 
of  his  duties,  he  may  often  pass  through  the  val- 
ley of  humiliation  or  climb  the  hill  of  difficulty, 
light  from  the  celestial  city  will  shine  upon  his 
path,  and  angelic  voices  will  chant  within  his 
soul  the  inspiring  strain,  "Come  up  hither, — 
even  unto  Him  who  has  redeemed  us  through 
his  own  blood,  and  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God." 

Let,  then,  some  season  be  sacredly  set  apart 
by  the  teacher  for  this  direct  preparation  for  his 
duties.  While  the  Sabbath  morning  hours  may 
often  be  too  short  for  this  work,  let  the  closing 
hours  of  the  week  be  thus  consecrated.  Let  the 
Saturday  evening  be  set  apart  as  a  "  preparation 
season,"  instead  of  being  devoted,  as  by  so  many, 
to  any  mere  passing  amusement  or  social  engage- 
ment. Would  not  the  instructions  and  the  ser- 
vices of  the  school  and  the  sanctuary  be  impart- 
ed and  received  with  far  greater  earnestness  and 
efficacy,  if  the  engrossing  cares  and  duties,  the 
business  and  the  pleasures  of  the  week  were 
sooner  laid"  aside,  and  a  few  hours  given  to  holy 
meditation,  to  heavenly  communion,  and  to  se- 
cret prayer,  and  a  brief  period  devoted  to  heart 
preparation  for  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath? 

The  maxim  often  quoted  as  an  excuse  for  the 
neglect  of  such  seasons  of  devotion,  that  "  all 
days  are  alike,"  and  that  "  every  day  is  equally 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  121 

a  Sabbath,"  too  generally  results  in  ignoring  it 
altogether,  and  In  levelling  downward  and  earth- 
ward, rather  than  heavenward  ;  for  the  business 
and  occupations  of  the  week  are  too  often  made 
to  intrude  upon  the  day  of  rest,  instead  of  the 
holy  and  spiritual  influences  of  the  Sabbath  flow- 
ing through  and  purifying  the  stream  of  earthly 
care  and  engrossing  duty. 

How  blessed  this  "  preparation  season  "  to  the 
Christian  household,  when  the  toils  of  the  week 
are  ended,  when  noisy  mirth  is  hushed,  and  par- 
ents and  children  unite  together  in  anticipation 
of  the  duties  and  pleasures  of  the  coming  Sab- 
bath ;  when  mutual  help,  sympathy,  and  encour- 
agement are  rendered,  and  a  feeling  of  more  de- 
vout reverence,  a  higher  aspiration,  and  a  warmer 
love,  are  quickened  in  every  soul  ! 

How  important  the  right  improvement  of  this 
season,  too,  to  those  who  would  not  only  join  in 
the  services  of  public  worship,  but  who  would 
teach  others  also  of  the  way  of  life  ! 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  this,  or  any  period  of 
time,  the  Christian  will  not  look  to  the  example 
or  custom  of  the  world  around,  but,  under  a  prev- 
alent and  constraining  sense  of  his  own  account- 
ability, with  the  Bible  for  his  only  guide,  act 
with  simple  reference  to  his  highest  spiritual  and 
eternal  interests. 

Thus  acting,  he  will  never  fall  into  any  mere 
selfish  or  thoughtless  routine  of  life,  for  He  who 


122  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

gave  himself  a  living  sacrifice  for  man  will  go 
before  him,  ever  marking  out  for  him  the  true 
path  in  wliich  to  tread. 

While  the  teacher  seeks,  through  heavenly  com- 
munion and  sincere  prayer,  to  prepare  his  own 
spirit  for  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath,  let  him  not 
forget  to  offer,  likewise,  earnest  and  devout  in- 
tercession in  behalf  of  his  pupils.  Let  him  re- 
member their  peculiar  wants,  trials,  and  tempta- 
tions, and  in  fervent  intercession  bear  each  one 
in  his  heart  as  he  bends  in  supplication.  His 
direct  counsels  and  words  of  instruction  may 
seem  to  effect  little  good;  but  who  knows  the 
secret  influences,  the  strength  and  help  imparted 
to  others,  through  such  seasons  of  prayer  and  in- 
tercession ?  Let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  waver- 
ing, knowing'  that  if  the  petition  be  sincere  it 
will  assuredly  be  answered  in  God's  good  time. 
Let  him  ask,  even  as  the  little  child  goes  to  its 
parent  with  its  earnest  request,  trusting,  hope- 
ful, believing.  Let  him  not  hesitate,  let  him  not 
tarry  in  the  far-off  country,  but  bring  his  suppli- 
cations and  intercessions  for  others  to  the  foot- 
stool of  redeeming  love,  wnth  the  same  assurance 
in  which  he  offers  the  petition  for  personal  guid- 
ance and  a  personal  blessing.  Such  intercessions 
will  never  be  in  vain  :  they  will  be  heard  and  an- 
swered. In  the  future  world,  may  not  the  Chris- 
tian have  added  to  his  crown  of  rejoicing  the 
grateful  blessing  of  those  who  seemed   utterly 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  123 

cold,  indift'er-ent,  and  careless^  but  for  whom  his 
daily  and  fervent  prayers  went  forth,  that  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit  might  rest  upon  them,  lead- 
ing them  to  Christ  and  to  heaven? 

The  teacher  may  also  exert  a  beneficial  in- 
fluence over  his  pupils  by  sometimes  seeking  out 
opportunities  of  private  intercourse  with  them,  by 
offering  the  united  prayer  for  strength  and  heav- 
enly blessing,  by  supplicating  with  and  for  them 
the  help  of  the  Spirit.  For  why  should  not  the 
teacher  of  a  class,  as  well  as  the  pastor  of  a  large 
flock,  unite  with  those  under  his  care  in  this 
sacred  duty,  and  all  together  enjoy  this  blessed 
privilege  ?  Who  can  estimate  the  influence  of  such 
moments  upon  the  spiritual  character  of  the  pupil ! 

"  That  might  of  faith,  O  Lord  !  bestoAv, 
Which  cannot  ask  in  vain  ; 
Which  will  not  let  the  angel  go 
Until  the  prayer  it  gain." 

At  the  present  time,  when  so  much  scepticism 
abounds  upon  the  w^hole  subject  of  prayer,  — 
wdien,  by  many,  the  simple  faith  taught  by 
Christ,  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,"  is  almost 
w^holly  ignored,  and  metaphysical  questions  are 
raised  by  half-believers  upon  the  efficacy  of 
prayer,  and  the  reality  of  the  blessing  brought 
to  the  soul  in  answer  to  sincere  supplication,  as 
being  inconsistent  with  the  immutability  of  the 
divine  counsels  and  the  omniscience  of  the  Eter- 
nal,—  prayer  being  thus  regarded  only  as  an  act 
11* 


124  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

of  self-excitation  by  which  the  soul  is  brought 
into  a  state  of  higher  self-consciousness,  —  the 
Christian  teacher  needs  especially  to  go  back  to 
the  very  oracles  of  divine  truth,  and  to  look  deep 
within  his  own  sou],  that  he  may  learn  the  lesson 
of  a  child-like  faith  and  a  conscious  dependence, 
—  that  he  may  believe  the  words  of  Christ  when 
he  says,  "*Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in 
my  name,  he  will  give  it  you." 

Were  such  a  spirit  of  prayer  prevalent  through- 
out our  schools,  should  we  not  notice  nobler  re- 
sults? Is  it  not  the  lack  of  this  more  than  all 
things  else  that  so  often  renders  our  endeavors 
void  and  fruitless  ?  Do  we  habitually  pray,  as  if 
we  really  believed  that  God  is  both  able  and  will- 
ing to  pour  forth  the  quickening  influences  of 
his  Spirit  upon  our  churches  and  our  schools, — 
to  impart  larger  measures  of  life  and  holiness  ? 
Do  we  pray  that  they  may,  indeed,  be  baptized 
with  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  aroused  to  holier 
endeavors,  and  filled  with  a  divine  energy? 
Only  let  such  a  spirit  be  kindled  among  us,  let 
such  earnest  and  fervent  supplications  go  forth 
from  the  heart  of  every  teacher,  both  in  behalf 
of  his  own  pupils  and  of  all  our  schools,  a  new 
impulse  and  an  ever-increasing  activity  and 
power  of  usefulness  will  be  diflused  among  us, 
and  Christ  will  be  felt  to  abide  with  us,  as  the 
ever-present  Sustainer,  Comforter,  and  Guide. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  attend,  if  pos- 


OF    THZ    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  125 

sible,  the  regular  social  meetings,  appointed 
monthly,  or  at  other  stated  intervals  of  time, 
in  the  school  with  which  he  is  connected.  He 
should  feel  the  obligation  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  render  such  meetings  improving  and  interest- 
ing ;  not  putting  off  all  the  work  upon  others, 
not  feeling  that  the  pastor  and  superintendent 
are  the  only  on.es  to  render  the  hour  one  of 
mutual  benefit,  but  feeling  that  he  has  a  part  to 
do,  a  work  to  perform,  in  preparing  himself,  by 
reading  or  reflection,  on  the  given  subject  of  the 
evening,  and  so  far  as  he  may  in  imparting  the 
results  of  his  own  study  or  experience,  either 
by  writing  or  conversation.  Such  meetings,  if 
judiciously  conducted,  are  of  essential  importance 
in  bringing  the  teachers  together,  in  creating  and 
sustaining  a  feeling  of  mutual  interest  and  sym- 
pathy, and  in  imparting  mutual  aid  and  encour- 
agement. Whatever  may  be  regarded  by  indi- 
vidual schools  as  the  best  course  to  be  pursued 
at  such  times,  whether  the  direct  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  or  the  discussion  of  doctrines  or  ab- 
stract truths,  or  of  questions  relating  to  the  im- 
mediate welfare  of  the  school,  the  ultimate  end 
should  be  one  and  the  same,  namely,  the  im- 
provement and  progress  of  teachers,  and  through 
them  the  advancement  of  the  school,  —  the  meet- 
ing together  for  united  prayer  and  supplication 
for  the  help  and  guidance  of  the  Spirit. 

Where  this  end  is  lost  sight  of,  where  frivolous 


126  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

conversation  or  unedifying  debate,  or  mere  in^ 
difference  characterizes  the  hour,  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  give  up  such  meetings  at  once.  If  con- 
ducted in  a  serious,  devout,  yet  cheerful  spirit, 
they  may  be  made  one  of  the  most  fruitful  means 
of  a  higher  and  quickened  life,  and  of  a  deeper 
interest  and  closer  sympathy  among  the  teachers. 

A  course  has  been  pursued  in  some  of  our 
long-established  schools,  and  with  success,  of 
having  a  course  of  study,  or  a  list  of  subjects  of 
discussion,  marked  out  at  the  commencement  of 
the  season,  to  be  taken  up  in  regular  order,  a 
copy  of  which  is  furnished  to  each  teacher  at  the 
first  meeting,  by  which  means  he  has  ample  time 
to  read  or  think  upon  the  subject  before  it  is 
brought  before  the  meeting  for  general  conversa- 
tion or  discussion.  Written  communications  are 
requested  from  any  able  and  willing  thus  to  con- 
tribute to  the  interest  of  the  hour,  and  the  read- 
ing of  them  is  followed  by  more  general  debate, 
or  private  conversation.  At  other  times  it  may 
be  found  more  profitable  to  have  the  hour  de- 
voted to  the  direct  study  of  the  Scriptures. 

We  need,  also,  to  meet  together,  that  we  may 
learn  to  teach;  that  those  who  have  just  under- 
taken the  duties  of  the  teacher  may  gather  wis- 
dom from  the  experience  of  others  long  and  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  the  work.  We  have  our 
normal  schools  to  impart  the  art  of  teaching  to 
those  who  would  themselves  be  the  instructors  of 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  127 

others,  in  secular  truth  and  scientific  knowledge ; 
and  equally  do  we  need  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
to  embrace  every  opportunity  of  progressing,  of 
learning  how  we  may  teach  better  and  more 
truly,  how  our  instructions  may  be  rendered 
more  useful,  thorough,  and  interesting.  Above 
all,  let  such  meetings  be  sanctified  by  prayer,  and 
hallowed  by  devout  and  earnest  supplication. 
Whatever  may  be  the  discussions  or  the  teach- 
ings of  the  hour,  let  there  be  the  united  inter- 
cessions for  divine  help  and  blessing;  for  the 
conscious  guidance,  the  renewing  and  sanctify- 
ing influences  of  the  Spirit,  thus  fulfilling  the 
Saviour's  prayer,  "  That  they  all  may  be  one,  as 
thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they 
may  be  one  in  us." 

Another  direct  and  important  duty  of  the 
teacher  is  to  become  acquainted  with  his  pupils 
in  their  own  homes  ;  to  learn  the  influences  which 
there  surround  them  ;  the  dangers  and  tempta- 
tions to  which  they  may  be  exposed ;  their  pecu- 
liar trials,  wants,  difl[iculties,  and  opportunities. 
Where  such  intercourse  is  seconded  by  the  in- 
terest and  co-operation  of  parents,  a  means  of 
influence  is  opened  which  cannot  be  over-esti- 
mated. Here  we  are  met  by  a  difficulty,  which, 
to  many,  is  not  slight  nor  imaginary.  In  many 
of  our  schools,  the  children  of  a  class  move  in  a 
different,  and  so-called  higher  social  circle  than 
the  teacher ;  and  naturally  there  is  a  conscious 


128  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTFI 

diffidence  or  backwardness  on  his  or  her  part  in 
taking  the  first  step  toward  such  a  mutual  ac- 
quaintance. 

We  have  known  pupils  remain  under  the  care 
of  the  same  teacher  for  four  or  five  years,  and 
yet  the  parents  make  no  advance  toward  such 
intercourse ;  never  express  any  word  of  encour- 
agement or  indebtedness  to  the  teacher,  or  evince 
the  least  interest  in  the  studies  of  their  children 
or  the  welfare  of  the  school. 

What  a  chilling  and  depressing  influence  such 
indifference  has  upon  a  sensitive  heart  few  but 
the  individual  can  know.  Never  will  our  schools 
take  their  true  position,  and  become  the  means 
of  a  high  spiritual  nurture,  until  parents  more 
generally  manifest  a  direct,  personal  interest  in 
their  improvement  and  success.  Some  expres- 
sion of  interest  is  due  to  the  faithful  teacher; 
and  though  he  may  be  able  and  willing  to  labor 
perseveringly  and  prayerfully  from  the  highest  of 
motives,  how  much  would  a  few  words  of  en- 
couragement and  interest  often  do  to  lighten  his 
labors,  and  to  cheer  him  in  his  work  I 

On  the  other  hand,  let  the  teacher  be  faithful 
to  his  own  duties,  in  visiting  his  pupils  from  time 
to  time,  whenever  such  intercourse  is  possible, — 
especially  in  cases  of  sickness  or  peculiar  trial. 
If  they  are  in  poverty  or  want,  let  him  lend  the 
helping  hand,  or  give  the  word  of  encourage- 
ment ;  if  in  suffering,  speak  the  word  of  a  heart- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  129 

felt  sympathy;  if  in  sorrow,  mourn  with  them. 
Let  him  evince,  by  every  means  in  his  power, 
that  his  interest  is  not  confined  to  the  Sabbath 
hour.  Let  him  direct  their  reading,  if  they  have 
no  truer  and  better  guide  at  home ;  let  him  some- 
times seek  with  them  the  beautiful  haunts  of 
nature,  and  by  cheerful  conversation  lead  their 
thoughts  and  aspirations  to  the  great  and  good 
Giver  of  all ;  let  him  go  with  them  occasionally 
to  the  dwellings  of  poverty  or  suffering,  and  teach 
them  the  blessings  -of  an  active  charity  and  a 
true  thoughtfulness  for  others,  and  point  out  to 
them  in  what  simple  ways  they  may  be  useful  to 
otfiers,  however  limited  their  means  or  opportu- 
nities. 

Let  him  occasionally  seek  to  deepen  their  good 
resolutions,  or  point  out  some  particular  fault,  by 
a  simple  note  ;  for  even  if  the  child  be  so  young 
as  to  require  it  to  be  printed,  it  will  often  have 
a  deeper  and  more  lasting  influence,  will  touch 
the  heart  more  truly,  than  any  regular  lesson. 
With  the  older  pupils,  how  often,  through  the 
medium  of  a  letter,  will  a  kind  remonstrance,  or 
an  earnest  plea  for  a  higher  spiritual  life,  for 
self-consecration  to  Christ,  be  more  efficacious 
than  any  spoken  words  ! 

Let  him  endeavor  to  awaken  or  to  increase 
the  interest  of  his  pupils  in  the  public  services  of 
religion  ;  to  deepen  their  reverence  for  the  sanc- 
tuary and  their  attachment  to  the  Church.     Let ' 


130  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 

the  immediate  subject  of  the  services  be  often 
referred  to,  and  made  a  topic  of  conversation  in 
the  class,  and  let  even  the  younger  children  be 
taught  to  pay  attention  to  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  and  the  hymns,  though  the  sermon 
itself  may  be  above  their  comprehension. 

Above  all,  let  the  teacher  feel  it  to  be  his  own 
duty  to  be  a  punctual  and  regular  attendant 
upon  the  services  of  public  worship.  Let  not 
his  practice  contradict  his  teachings,  nor  his  ex- 
ample belie  his  words.  Let  the  pupil  see,  that 
to  him,  at  least,  the  Sabbath,  with  all  its  blessed 
influences,  its  means  of  instruction,  its  opportu- 
nities of  improvement,  its  meetings  for  soleAm 
worship  and  devout  prayer,  is  a  holy  season,  a 
season  of  religious  privilege,  a  season  for  religious 
thought  and  spiritual  communion,  marked  by  no 
austerity  nor  gloom,  but  cheerful  and  happy. 

Let  not  his  seat  in  the  sanctuary  be  found  va- 
cant with  every  cloud  in  the  sky,  every  cold  win- 
ter's wind,  or  warm  summer's  breeze  ;  but  let  him 
prove  that  he  so  far  values  such  privileges  as 
occasionally  to  make  some  little  exertion,  or  prac- 
tise a  little  self-denial,  in  order  to  be  present  at 
the  regular  service. 

A  teacher  who  instructs  his  class  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  spends  the  afternoon  in  walking,  riding, 
or  visiting,  or  lounges  at  home  reading  the  news- 
paper or  the  last  new  novel,  will  exert  but  a  du- 
bious influence  on  his   pupils.      Actions  speak 


OP   THE    CIIRISTIA-N    hH  ::.  131 

louder  than  words,  and  their  inflaencc  is  more 
enduring.  Character  possesses  an  unmeasured 
power  and  an  all-potent  influence,  though  no  di- 
rect word  of  counsel  or  rebuke  be  uttered ;  but 
mere  teaching,  unless  the  life  in  some  good  de- 
gree correspond,  is  worse  than  useless. 

While  there  exists  such  a  growing  indifference 
to, the  institutions  of  religion,  while  the  great 
interests  of  public  worship  are  made  to  depend 
chiefly  upon  the  peculiar  talent  or  fidelity  of  one 
individual,  so  that  if  he  be  removed,  the  church 
often  degenera;tes  at  once,  as  if  its  whole  life 
were  concentrated  in  one  person,  instead  oi  being 
an  active,  vital  principle,  diffused  through  every 
limb  of  the  whole  body,  self-sustained  and  life- 
diffusing  ;  —  while  nice  criticisms  upon  the  style 
or  manner  of  the  preacher  are  made  to  take  the 
place  of  a  self-application  of  the  truths  uttered ; 
while  a  brilliant  intellect  is  so  often  preferred  to 
a  profound,  realizing  faith,  or  a  fine  theoretical 
discussion  excites  a  deeper  interest  than  the  sim- 
ple, solemn  utterance  of  divine,  eternal  truths  ;  — 
the  teacher  needs  firmly  and  definitely  to  take 
his  only  true  position  ;  to  manifest,  by  a  devout 
and  reverential  observance  of  the  public  services 
of  the  Sabbath,  that  he  regards  them  as  of  im- 
portance, and  to  evince,  both  by  word  and  action, 
that  the  great  object  of  such  worship  is,  not  the 
mere  hearing  of  this  or  that  favorite  preacher, 
12 


132  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

but  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  promotion  of 
the  soul's  spiritual  and  eternal  good. 

These  and  other  duties  might  easily  be  en- 
larged upon  ;  but  the  conscientious  teacher  will 
never  be  left  in  darkness  as  to  the  true  path  of 
duty  and  of  effort. 

Looking  unto  Jesus,  —  seeking,  through  daily 
prayer,  Divine  help,  —  waiting  on  the  Spirit,; — 
he  will  ever  seek  higher  aims  and  wider  views  of 
truth  and  of  duty,  remembering  that  Divine  prom- 
ise :  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give 
thee  a  crown  of  life." 

"  No  act  falls  fruitless  ;  none  can  tell 
How  vast  its  power  may  be ; 
Nor  what  results,  enfolded,  dwell 
Within  it  silently. 

"  Work  on ;  despair  not ;  bring  thy  mite, 
Nor  care  how  small  it  be  ; 
God  is  with  all  who  serve  the  right, 
The  holy,  true,  and  free." 


OP   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  133 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  PUPILS. USE  OF  MANUALS,  &C. 


'  Not  in  proud  and  lofty  dreaming, 

But  in  glowing,  active  zeal. 
Humbly  its  own  worth  esteeming 
Laboring  still  for  human  weal ; 
Christian !  shall  to  thee  be  given, 
Wisdom,  grace,  the  love  of  heaven.' 


It  is  sometimes  remarked,  and  with  a  degree 
of  truth,  that,  much  as  has  been  written  and  said 
on  the  Sunday  school,  frequent  as  are  the  public 
meetings  for  debate  and  discussion  on  its  true 
modes  of  operation,  and  its  legitimate  aim  and 
object,  the  practical  question,  "  What  am  I  to 
do  ?  "  often  remains  unanswered,  as  the  teacher 
turns  to  the  immediate  duties  of  his  class. 

We  shall  endeavor,  therefore,  in  the  present 
chapter,  to  give  a  few  brief  hints  on  the  manner 
in  which  a  more  systematic  arrangement  of 
classes  may  be  introduced,  and  to  offer  a  few 
simple  suggestions  on  the  mode  of  instructing 
the  youngest  pupils,  considering  in  brief  the  true 


134  BEGINNING    AND    GUOWTH 

use  of  iriaimals  and  text-books,  as  aids  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible. 

The  first  requisite  for  any  permanent  and  reai 
improvement,  either  in  the  single  class  or  in  the 
school  collectively,  v^^e  have  already  shown  to 
consist  in  the  true  spiritual  and  intellectual  prep- 
aration of  the  teacher  for  his  work. 

The  next  point  to  which  we  would  advert,  is 
the  better  classification  of  the  school.  We  are 
aware  that  on  this  point  it  is  easier  to  theorize 
than  to  practise ;  yet  we  believe,  that  with  some 
definite,  determined  aim  in  view,  much  even  here 
may  be  accomplished.  To  feel  the  want  is  the 
first  step  towards  improvement.  Each  individual 
class,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  those  com- 
posed of  the  very  youngest  children,  should  be 
engaged  on  the  same  lesson  ;  and  to  this  end, 
children  will  be  classed  of  course  according  to  their 
capabilities  and  progress,and  not  according  to  age. 
To  have  the  single  hour  —  often  only  an  half- 
hour  —  reserved  for  direct  instruction  in  the 
classes  divided  among  two,  three,  and  even  four 
recitations,  must  of  course  render  each  either 
very  brief  or  very  superficial,  and  will  strengthen 
in  the  pupil  the  too  prevalent  idea  that  a  mere 
cursory  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  or  a  lesson  re- 
peated memoriter,  is  all  that  is  essential. 

One  hour  a  week,  with  those  teachers  who  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  such  a  length  of  time  for 
class  instruction,  is  surely  brief  enough  to  speak 


OF    THE    CHKISTIAN    LIFE.  135 

of  themes  so  vast  and  so  momentous  as  are  re- 
vealed in  both  the  old  and  new  dispensations  of 
truth,  to  enlarge  on  their  rich  lessons  of  biog- 
raphy and  history,  their  stores  of  poetry  and 
prophecy,  their  words  of  warning  and  retribution, 
and  their  promises  of  hope  and  eternal  blessed- 
ness. 

When  a  pupil  enters  the  school,  let  it  be  the 
duty  of  the  superintendent  to  converse  freely 
with  him,  to  examine  him  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures,  to  ascertain  something  of  his 
home  life,  and  of  his  character  and  disposition, 
and  then  to  place  him,  with  the  consent  of  the 
teacher,  in  such  a  class  as  seems  best  suited  to 
his  needs  and  capacities;  and  if,  after  a  few 
weeks,  there  are  good  reasons  for  making  a 
change,  some  other  and  permanent  teacher  may 
be  found.  It  is  said,  "  Supposing  a  teacher  com- 
mences with  a  class  of  six  pupils,  of  average 
capacity  and  advancement,  and  with  the  inten- 
tion of  keeping  them  together  as  long  as  possi- 
ble. Within  one  or  two  years,  perhaps  half  of 
them,  from  various  causes,  have  left  the  school ; 
their  parents  have  removed  to  other  towns  or 
cities,  or  sickness  has  obliged  them  to  remain  at 
home.  How,  then,  is  the  teacher  to  supply  their 
place  ?  for  he  is  unwilling  to  give  up  those  still 
remaining  with  him,  to  whom  he  has  already 
become  strongly  attached."  In  such  a  case, 
some  teachers  take  children  much  younger  into 
12* 


136  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

their  classes,  to  commence  leading  them  on,  as 
those  who  have  left ;  but  this,  of  course,  creates 
a  division  in  the  class,  and  limits  the  time  to  be 
devoted  to  each  portion. 

Would  it  not  be  much  better,  in  almost  every 
case,  to  supply  such  vacancies  by  pupils  able  to 
unite  with  the  original  members  of  the  class, 
and  so  to  continue  in  the  same  course  of  instruc- 
tion ?  Such  a  method  possesses  many  advan- 
tages, and  a  little  attention  on  the  part  of  super- 
intendents and  teachers  could  easily  secure  the 
desired  end.  To  have  well-informed  pupils  ol 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age  in  the  same  class 
with  children  of  six  or  seven  seems  utterly  in- 
congruous, and  a  mode  of  classification  which 
would  never  be  tolerated  in  our  day-schools.  Are 
we  not,  in  so  doing,  limiting  our  means  of  use- 
fulness, and  curtailing  the  brief  opportunities  we 
now  possess  of  imparting  instruction  in  spiritual 
truth  ? 

Some  teachers  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  in- 
terest the  youngest  pupils,  and  by  a  winning, 
gentle  manner,  can  secure  order,  attention,  and 
interest,  without  any  word  of  authority;  while 
others  as  naturally  seek  those  more  advanced, 
whose  lessons  require  more  direct  study  and 
thought.  Judgment  and  observation  are,  there- 
fore, needed  in  classifying  any  school ;  but  let  not 
mere  caprice,  on  the  part  either  of  tlie  teacher  or 
of  the  pupil,  justify  a  change  of  classes  ;  let  not 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  137 

want  of  perseverance  or  faith  be  concealed  under 
a  plea  of  want  of  ability,  or  a  mere  desire  of 
change  be  deemed  a  sufficient  excuse. 

The  ties  formed  between  the  true  teacher  and 
his  pupils  are  too  sacred  and  strong  to  be  lightly 
or  wantonly  sundered,  and  the  spiritual  influence 
which  he  exerts  over  them  is  to  be  regarded  be- 
fore all  things  else.  If  the  good  of  the  pupil  de- 
mand a  change  of  classes,  such  change  should 
be  made,  and  a  course  of  regular,  systematic  in- 
struction pursued. 

To  mark  out  the  same  exact  course  for  all 
the  pupils  in  the  school,  where  they  possess 
so  widely  different  advantages,  and  occupy  so 
different  positions  in  life,  and  remain  in  the 
school  for  such  different  periods  of  time,  is  im- 
possible. If  some  distinct,  definite  plan  is  clearly 
laid  down,  and  fully  understood  by  the  teachers, 
which  they  shall  feel  bound  to  follow  out  as  far 
as  possible,  we  believe  that  it  will  be  essentially 
better  and  more  practicable  to  leave  the  details  of 
the  plan  to  the  judgment  of  the  individual 
teachers,  than  to  attempt  any  rigid  enforcement. 
This,  of  course,  throws  a  greater  responsibility  on 
the  teacher;  but  such  a  responsibility  to  any 
active,  earnest  mind  will  be  quickening  rather 
tJ?  an  depressing.  He  will  not  regard  himself  as 
a  mere  machine,  but  as  an  essential  limb  of  the 
whole  body  ;  and  any  change  he  may  make  in 
his  class,  or  in  his  course  of  instruction,  will  not 


138  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

be  done  without  thought  and  prayer,  and  refer- 
ence to  the  ultimate  good  of  the  pnpil. 

It  is  often  asked,  How  are  the  younger  pupils 
to  be  instructed  and  interested  ?  A  partial  an- 
swer to  this  question  may  be  found  in  what  has 
already  been  said ;  but  as  a  more  direct  reply, 
we  would  offer  a  few  brief  hints.  Let  the 
youngest  child  have  some  definite  lesson  to  pre- 
pare, however  short  or  simple  ;  let  him  commit 
one  or  more  verses  of  a  hymn,  or  a  short  pas- 
sage of  Scripture,  previously  explained,  and  then 
let  the  teacher  illustrate  the  lesson  by  direct 
and  simple  conversation.  The  remainder  of  the 
hour  may  be  profitably  occupied  by  the  teach- 
er's reading  some  portion  of  Scripture,  some 
story  from  the  Old  Testament,  or  an  account 
of  some  one  of  Christ's  miracles,  or  a  para- 
ble from  the.  New  Testament,  and  explaining  as 
he  reads  ;  and,  on  the  following  Sabbath,  requiring 
the  children  to  give  an  account  of  what  was  read 
the  previous  week,  and  questioning  them,  to  as- 
certain the  correctness  of  their  knowledge.  In 
this  way,  a  very  young  child  may  be  made 
familiar  with  all  the  leading  narratives  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  and  where  little  home  instruction  is 
given,  such  lessons  will  be  found  more  attractive 
than  almost  anything  else  ;  for  the  insatiable  cra^"- 
ing  of  children  for  "  stories  "  will  seldom  be  wea- 
ried with  those  of  Joseph  and  Moses,  of  Samuel 
and  David,  of  Elijah  and  Daniel.     With  such  a 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  13& 

lamentable  deficiency  as  now  exists  of  any  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  the  Old-Testament  history 
and  biography,  how  can  the  want  be  better  rem- 
edied, than  by  interesting  the  young  mind  in 
its  rich  stores  of  instruction  ?  The  child  will 
never  forget  the  impressions  thus  received,  and 
however  great  his  subsequent  acquirements,  he 
will  never  outgrow  his  interest  in  these  conse- 
crated records  of  an  early  age,  —  in  the  strange 
and  wonderful  history  of  the  chosen  people  of 
Jehovah.  With  such  a  foundation,  when  the 
child  commences  the  direct  study  of  either  the 
Old  or  the  New  Testament,  with  the  use  of  some 
manual,  he  will  have  a  stock  of  information  on 
which  to  fall  back,  and  will  find  his  lessons  of 
double  interest.  The  amount  of  good  that  might 
be  gained  by  the  faithful  use  of  home  opportu- 
nities in  this  way  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
If  parents  or  elder  brothers  and  sisters  felt  the 
responsibility  of  thus  interesting  the  younger 
miembers  of  the  home  circle  in  the  wonderful 
records  of  the  Bible,  far  less  need  would  there  be 
to  deplore,  as  we  do  now,  the  strange  ignorance 
of  its  contents  even  among  those  well  informed 
on  other  topics. 

The  mere  reading  of  the  Bible  in  course,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  as  if  this  alone  were  a 
matter  of  comment  or  praise  in  the  child  or  youth, 
is,  we  hardly  need  say,  a  useless  practice.  Let 
selections  be  pointed  out  to  him,  to  read  by  him- 


140  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

sell,  or  passages  read  aloud  and  explained  to 
him,  and  he  will  never  look  on  the  Bible  as  a 
"  dull  book,"  or  a  book  only  for  Sundays.  Here 
we  would  record  our  remonstrance  against  the 
practice,  common  in  some  schools,  of  occupying 
the  brief  hour  of  instruction  in  reading  to  the 
younger  children  mere  story-books  or  tales  from 
a  child's  paper.  Occasionally,  this  may  be  done 
to  advantage  ;  but  to  lay  the  Bible  aside,  as  if 
the  child  were  too  young  to  understand  its  les- 
sons of  divine  truth,  and  to  supplant  it  by  some 
feeble,  trifling  fiction,  is  utterly  unworthy  the 
great  object  of  Sunday-school  tuition.  With 
the  younger  and  the  elder  pupils,  let  the  Bible, 
and  the  Bible  alone,  be  the  chief  book  of  instruc- 
tion. Manuals  are  of  value  only  as  they  help 
to  illustrate  and  unfold  the  truth  of  the  divine 
record;  and  are  not  those  to  be  regarded  as  es- 
sentially deficient  which  do  not  direct  the  pupii 
to  search,  for  himself,  the  records  of  Revelation? 
The  manual  is  only 'of  secondary  importance, — 
to  give  point  and  definiteness  to  the  lesson,  and 
to  let  the  pupil  have  something  to  do  in  preparing 
for  the  exercises  of  the  school. 

The  faithful  teacher  will  never  bound  his  in- 
struction by  a  given  number  of  questions  and 
answers ;  for  he  will  feel  that  such  a  recitation  is 
but  a  poor  fulfilment  of  his  duties. 

"  It  is  little  trouble  to  have  charge  of  a  class 
now,"  said  a  teacher  in  one  of  our  city  schools, 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIIK.  Ill 

not  long  since ;  "  for,  with  a  regular  series  of 
books  to  use,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  just  to 
ask  the  questions,  and  be  sure  that  the  right  an- 
swers are  given."  On  being  asked  if  she  did  not 
make  it  a  practice  to  converse  with  her  pupils,  or 
to  study  the  lesson  by  herself,  she  replied,  "  O,  no ! 
The  answers  and  the  references  given  I  presunne 
are  all  correct;  and  then  we  have  but  just  time 
to  go  through  the  regular  lesson  before  the 
school  closes." 

Is  there  not  too  much  of  this  kind  of  instruc- 
tion, if  it  deserves  to  be  called  such,  even  in  our 
best  schools  ?  A  manual,  at  the  best,  is  only 
suggestive,  and  should  be  used  by  the  teacher 
always  as  a  means,  not  as  an  end  ;  and  should 
ever  be  regarded  as  a  help  to  the  study  of  the 
Bible,  and  as  subsidiary  to  the  direct  examina- 
tion of  its  pages.  The  old-fashioned  custom, 
if  so  it  may  be  called,  of  committing  to  memory 
portions  of  the  Scriptures  and  hymns,  is  one 
which  ought  not  to  be  discontinued  among  our 
pupils.  The  stores  of  sacred  truth  thus  laid  up 
in  the  mind  are  invaluable  treasures  in  after 
years  ;  and  what  poetry  more  sublime,  what 
strains  more  elevating,  than  the  inspired  rhythm 
of  psalmist  and  prophet  ?  It  is  well  known  how 
long  the  verses  and  hymns,  committed  in  child- 
hood, remain  fixed  in  the  memory,  when  all 
things  else  fade  and  are  forgotten ;  but  why 
should  this  practice  be  confined,  as  is  usually  the 


M2  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

case,  to  the  very  youngest  members  of  a  school? 
There  are  surely  stores  enough  of  sublime  poetry, 
of  devout  prayer,  and  of  solemn  praise,  embra- 
cing the  richest  treasures  for  those  of  older  years, 
and  of  inestimable  value  to  be  laid  up  in  the 
memory;  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  teacher, 
such  selections  could  easily  be  made,  and  could 
constitute  a  part  of  the  regular  recitations  of  the 
class. 

Every  child  should  commit  to  memory  the 
Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  some 
simple  form  of  morning  and  evening  devotion, 
suitable  to  express  his  peculiar  desires  and  needs ; 
for  to  those,  especially,  wholly  destitute  of  home 
religious  instruction  and  influence,  such  forms 
are  invalaable  helps  in  the  promotion  of  a  re- 
ligious spirit  and  the  growth  of  the  Christian 
character.  Often  will  they  dwell  in  the  mind, 
when  mere  words  of  counsel  or  admonition  are 
forgotten,  and  form  an  effective  barrier  against 
sudden  temptation  or  fierce  passion.  At  the 
same  time,  let  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  devotion 
be  so  inculcated  that  the  child  shall  soon  be  led 
to  express  his  wants  and  to  proffer  his  petitions 
in  his  own  words,  however  childlike  and  simple. 

We  are  sometimes  told  that  the  pupils  have 
no  time  to  prepare  their  lessons ;  that  their  school 
duties  through  the  week  occupy  all  their  hours ; 
and  that  they  need  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest  and 
relaxation.     If  this  be  truly  the  case,  we  would 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  143 

say  emphatically,  Let  some  or  all  other  studies  be 
given  up,  rather  than  that  of  the  Bible  ;  for  which 
:s  of  the  most  lasting  consequence,  a  French  or 
a  Latin  verb  and  a  problem  of  Euclid,  or  a 
knowledge  of  Gospel  truth  ?  There  is  a  fitting 
time  and  an  appropriate  season  for  each  and  for 
all ;  but  where  such  studies  are  made  to  encroach 
on  the  Sabbath,  or  the  weariness  resulting  from 
them,  in  any  one  case,  prevents  the  desire  for 
spiritual  instruction  and  preparation  for  the  du- 
ties of  the  school  and  sanctuary,  there  is  some- 
thing radically  wrong  in  the  system  of  education, 
and  parents  are  solemnly  responsible  for  tne  re- 
sult. Let  the  child  and  the  youth  be  taught  that 
there  are  some  studies  and  some  courses  of  read- 
ing peculiarly  appropriate  to  the  sacredness  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  that  his  grammar  and  arith- 
metic and  algebra  are  then  to  be  laid  aside.  Let 
works  illustrative  of  Bible  truth,  the  rich  stores 
of  Christian  biography,  the  history  of  the  won- 
derful fortunes  of  the  Jewish  race,  works  of  sacred 
poetry,  and  such  as  point  out  the  marks  of  the 
Creator's  wisdom,  power,  and  love  in  all  the 
beautiful  forn^s  of  nature,  —  let  all  such  be  freely 
opened  to  the  child  ;  for  they  will  minister  to  his 
spiritual  wants  and  5esirrs,  while  they  contribute 
also  to  his  intellectual  growth. 

There  is  a  knowledge  to  be  gained  of  the  es- 
tablishment and  progress  of  Christianity  in  the 
world,   the   evidences  of  the   truth   of  revealed 
.13 


144  BEGINNING    AND    GliOVVTU 

religion,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  leading 
parties  and  sects  of  the  Ciiurch,  —  all  offering  a 
wide  range  for  individual  taste  and  preference,  in 
those  of  maturer  years. 

If  our  pupils  are  to  become  the  future  teachers 
of  these  schools,  is  it  not  of  vast  importance  that 
they  should  be  well  informed  on  these  and  kin- 
dred subjects? 

That  the  teacher  should  possess  definite  and 
clear  ideas  of  the  truth  he  teaches  has  already 
been  considered  ;  and  of  equal  consequence  is  it, 
that,  as  the  pupil  leaves  the  school,  he  should 
know  distinctly  what  he  believes.  Lessons,  there- 
fore, on  Christian  doctrine,  not  controversial  or 
bigoted,  should  form  a  distinct  part  of  the  course 
of  studies  pursued  ;  for  unless  the  youth  possesses 
some  definite  knowledge  of  the  leading  truths  of 
the  faith  in  which  he  believes,  he  will  become  a 
ready  prey  to  the  shafts  of  scepticism  or  to  the 
sneers  of  ridicule.  Let  such  truths  be  distinctly 
fixed  in  his  mind,  and  however  few  or  simple, 
they  will  be  the  living  germ  of  a  growing  and 
enlarged  faith,  the  sure  foundation  of  the  belief 
and  trust  of  future  years. 

Amid  the  various  perplexing  questions  that 
arise  from  time  to  time  ill  every  school,  the 
teacher  may  sometimes  feel  discouraged  and 
uncertain  as  to  the  best  mode  of  action.  True, 
mistakes  have  been,  and  will  again  be  made, 
and  we  shall  sometimes  find  the  right  path  only 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  146 

after  long  and  devious  wanderings.  Let  no  in- 
dividual feel  that  he  is  exempt  from  doing  his 
part,  however  trifling,  towards  the  introduction 
of  a  better  system  and  of  a  higher  order  of 
teaching  in  our  schools.  Laborers  of  every 
capacity,  if  only  faithful,  are  needed  in  the 
building  up  of  the  one  great  spiritual  Temple. 
Only  let  its  foundations  be  laid  in  faith,  and  its 
walls  consecrated  by  prayer  and  heavenly  com- 
munion, and  its  work  wrought  in  a  sense  of 
entire  dependence  upon  God,  and  in  his  own 
time  it  will  rise  in  fair  and  beautiful  propor- 
tions, a  meet  dwelling  for  the  Holy  Spirit. 


146  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 


CHAI  TER    X. 


ORDER  AND   METHOD. SUNDAY-SCHOOL  LIBRARIES. 


"  No  existence  is  commonplace  to  him  who  lives  with  uncommon 
aims.  The  meanest  work,  carried  on  with  insight  and  hope,  with  a 
feeUng  of  the  beautiful  and  with  reference  to  the  whole  of  which  w» 
are  parts,  becomes  large  and  important." 


There  is  no  point  on  which  the  thorough  and 
hearty  co-operation  of  individual  teachers  is  more 
essential,  in  order  to  render  the  short  time  de- 
voted to  Sunday-school  instruction  conducive  to 
the  best  results,  than  the  enforcing  and  maintain- 
ing of  the  most  entire  order  and  regularity  in  all 
its  duties  and  exercises. 

Children  of  all  ages  and  capacities  are  brought 
together,  some  of  whom  have  never  been  sub- 
jected to  any  authority  or  restraint  at  home; 
while  others  are  prone  to  take  advantage  of  the 
absence  of  any  penal  discipline  in  the  school, 
and  to  make  the  hour  one  of  amusement  and 
recreation  rather  than  of  improvement ;  and  un- 
less there  is  a  distinct  understanding  among  the 


OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  147 

teachers  of  the  necessity  of  individual  firmness 
in  the  government  of  their  respective  classes,  of 
the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  most  entire  order 
and  regularity^  and  infusing  as  far  as  possible  a 
spirit  of  reverence  among  the  pupils,  the  school 
will  degenerate  at  once. 

Where  this  is  not  the  case,  where,  as  in  too 
many  schools,  amusement  is  made  paramount  to 
instruction,  and  order  sacrificed  to  the  caprice  of 
the  passing  moment,  a  most  grievous  wa*ong  is 
done  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  all  concerned. 
Amusement,  laughter,  or  trifling  conversation 
among  the  pupils,  whispering  among  the  teachers, 
lessons  recited  as  a  mere  form,  and  often  followed 
by  an  address  with  no  point,  no  definite  aim,  as  if 
the  speaker  felt  that  he  was  conferring  an  obliga- 
tion in  saying  something,  no  matter  what  or  how 
trifling,  a  hasty  dismission  and  a  hurried  exit,  — 
such  a  school,  or  one  in  any  way  resembling  such, 
is  worse,  —  we  speak  deliberately,  —  infinitely 
worse  than  the  entire  absence  of  religious  instruc- 
tion. Religion  is  degraded,  truth  dethroned,  and 
Christ  crucified  anew.  Let  a  child  have  no  relig- 
ious instruction,  let  him  be  debarred,  by  early 
want  and  disadvantage,  from  the  public  teachings 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  we  would  gladly  believe  that 
in  the  Father's  all-embracing  love  such  a  soul 
might  be  so  influenced  by  the  secret  monitions 
of  the  Spirit,  that  the  germs  of  a  true  spiritual 
life  would  be  quicivcned,  and  expand  in  full  and 
13* 


148  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

beautiful  unfoldings  in  the  genial  light  of  the 
heavenly  land,  beneath  the  Saviour's  tender  guar- 
dianship. 

Let  the  child  enter  a  school  that  is  character- 
ized by  disorder  and  frivolity,  let  him  be  placed 
under  the  charge  of  a  teacher  who  has  no  vital 
sense  of  the  infinite  moment  of  his  work,  and  the 
germs  of  religious  sensibility  are  soon  crushed, 
the  conscience  is  deadened,  the  interest  flags, 
faith  grows  dim  and  dies,  and  religion  becomes 
a  mere  ceremony,  without  any  living  spirit :  the 
present  is  all,  and  eternity  and  retribution,  and 
Christ  and  heaven,  are  mere  barren  fantasies. 
Even  in  a  school  where  the  general  regulations 
are  orderly  and  systematic,  and  the  exercises  de- 
vout and  serious,  if  the  child  receive  direct  in- 
struction from  a  teacher  whom  he  knows  to  be 
worldly,  frivolous,  and  careless,  the  same  effect 
will  more  than  probably  result  in  that  individual 
case. 

Let  the  child  be  blessed  by  religious  home 
influences,  and  such  results  may  in  part  be  coun- 
teracted, but  never  wholly  ;  the  after  life,  if  rightly 
directed,  must  be  a  struggle  to  overcome  such 
early  impressions :  and  how  hard  that  struggle 
few,  save  the  individual  himself,  can  tell. 

Is  it  asked.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?  We 
answer  emphatically.  Insist  on  order,  method, 
discipline,  in  the  general  government  of  the 
school,   and  in  individual  classes  ;   and,  if  this 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LH-^E.  149 

cannot  be  had  by  the  use  of  firm  and  judicious 
means,  let  the  school  be  closed  at  once.  Noth- 
ing can  be  effected  worthy  of  a  Christian  school 
without  order.  The  sooner  an  ill-managed,  ill- 
regulated,  ill-governed  school  is  disbanded,  the 
better. 

That  order  and  discipline  can  be  maintained 
without  any  direct  show  of  authority,  and  serious- 
ness and  reverence  characterize  the  hour,  we  well 
know.  Much,  very  much,  depends  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  superintendent,  and  the  judicious 
authority  which  he  may  exercise  in  the  general 
oversight  of  the  school.  But  let  him  possess  the 
very  best  intentions,  and  strive  to  the  utmost  to 
enforce  the  regulations  of  the  school,  and  it  will 
avail  little,  unless  each  teacher  feels  his  own  in- 
dividual responsibility  ill  co-operating  with  him. 

Let  a  few  plain,  simple  regulations  be  made  for 
the  use  of  the  school,  according  to  its  peculiar 
wants  and  individual  necessities,  and  let  each 
teacher  as  he  enters  upon  his  duties  be  furnished 
with  a  copy  of  the  same,  with  the  distinct  un- 
derstanding that  he  is  bound  to  carry  them  out 
in  the  government  of  his  own  class,  and  by  his 
example  to  assist  in  the  enforcement  of  them  in 
the  school  at  large.  Let  there  be  method  in  the 
entire  arrangement  of  the  general  exercises  of 
*  the  school ;  in  registering  the  names  of  pupils  and 
teachers ;  in  keeping  an  account  of  the  average 
attendance,  and  the  transfer  of  pupils  from  one 


150  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

class  to  another;  in  the  •distribution  of  book\ 
the  manner  of  opening  and  closing  the  school, 
&c. ;  though  on  these  and  kindred  topics,  of 
course,  each  school  must  make  its  own  regula- 
tions. Only  let  not  the  rules  remain  as  mere 
dead  letters  on  the  statute-books,  as  if  such  be- 
longed to  a  period  less  advanced,  or,  as  some 
imagine,  less  spiritual,  than  our  own.  Put  life 
into  them.  Make  them  effective  and  vital;  for 
it  is  only  through  such  system  and  order,  vainly 
denominated  by  some  "  mere  mechanical  forms," 
that  we  can  ever  attain  the  highest  and  truest 
spiritual  results. 

Much  might  be  done  to  promote  this  end,  by  a 
more  faithful  punctuality  on  the  part  of  both 
teachers  and  pupils ;  but  having  already  spoken 
on  this  point,  we  would  refer  to  what  constitutes 
a  gi'eat  interruption,  and  creates  much  disorder  in 
many  even  of  our  best-regulated  schools ;  namely, 
the  distribution  and  exchange  of  library- books 
among  the  pupils.  If  it  is  necessary  that  this 
should  be  done  on  the  Sabbath,  we  would  have 
the  library  opened  before  the  commencement  of 
the  school,  so  that  a  selection  of  books  may  be 
made  by  the  teachers,  without  occupying  any  of 
the  time  set  apart  for  the  exercises  of  the  school. 
When  the  school  is  about  to  be  dismissed,  let 
the  children  receive  to  take  home  with  them 
such  books  as  the  teacher  sees  fit. 

The  teacher  should  always  be  acquainted  with 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  151  ' 

the  character  and  contents  of  the  books  he  se- 
lects, and  choose  such  as  are  appropriate  to  the 
child's  age  and  capacity;  letting  him  understand 
distinctly  that  he  is  personally  responsible  for 
the  good  use  and  safe-keeping  of  the  same.  An- 
other regulation,  adopted  in  some  schools,  and 
which  might  with  little  effort  be  easily  carried 
out  in  almost  all,  seems  to  us  much  more  con- 
ducive to  the  good  order  of  the  school.  Let  the 
library  be  opened  at  a  certain  hour  during  the 
week,  and  then  let  the  teacher  go  and  make  such 
selections  as  he  knows  his  class  most  needs, — 
placing  the  books  with  the  manuals  or  service- 
books  used  by  the  pupils,  and  then,  on  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday,  simply  exchanging  them  with 
those  returned  by  the  children,  charging  the 
number  of  each  volume  to  the  individual  by 
whom  it  is  received.  The  teacher  would  not  be 
obliged  to  visit  the  library  more  than  once  in 
several  weeks,  as  the  different  pupils  in  his  class 
would  receive  in  turn  the  books  selected,  some, 
of  course,  keeping  them  longer  than  a  single 
week. 

This  method  prevents  all  confusion  in  the 
school,  —  the  constant  leaving  of  seats  by  either 
teachers  or  pupils,  the  looking  over  of  miscella- 
neous volumes  to  find  such  as  might  be  suitable, 
and  the  expenditure  of  time  too  valuable  to  be 
spared  from  the  direct  instructions  of  the  school. 

In  the  treatment  of  the  library,  much  depends 


152  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 

on  the  librarian's  habits  of  method  and  order, 
and  on  his  accuracy  and  fidelity  in  the  care  of 
the  books ;  but  equally  essential  is  it  that  each 
teacher  should  co-operate  in  the  rigid  enforce- 
ment of  all  the  regulations  of  the  library;  for 
only  in  this  way  is  it  possible  to  secure  the  good 
use  and  the  safe-keeping  of  the  books. 

Is  not  something  more  needed  in  most  of  our 
schools  than  improvement  in  the  merely  exter- 
nal arrangements  of  the  library?  Do  we  not 
greatly  need  a  higher  order  of  books,  —  books 
that  will  at  once  interest  children  and  contribute 
to  the  growth  of  their  intellectual  and  moral 
powers,  without  creating  a  morbid  love  for  mere 
works  of  fiction,  which  soon  leads  to  an  utter 
distaste  for  all  but  novel-reading  and  the  light 
literature  of  the  day  ?  Is  not  much  of  the  preva- 
lent superficiality  and  the  want  of  intellectual 
vigor  in  many  of  those  just  entering  on  mature 
life  attributable  to  the  habits  of  desultory  read- 
ing, and  the  thirst  for  exciting  mental  stimulants 
acquired  during  the  period  of  childhood  ? 

We  would  not,  by  any  means,  exclude  from 
our  libraries  all  works  of  fiction  ;  but  they  should 
constitute  only  the  minor  portion  of  the  books, 
and  should  be  such  as  directly  to  enforce  high 
moral  lessons.  To  admit  every  book,  however 
trite  its  aim  or  weak  its  style,  simply  because 
"the  good  child  is  rewarded,  and  the  disobedient 
punished,"  —  an  effect,  by  the  way,  not  always 


OP    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  153 

to  be  seen  in  real  life,  —  seems  to  us  unworthy 
the  true  aim  of  such  libraries,  and  the  high  moral 
tone  and  influence  that  should  flow  from  the 
Sunday  school. 

Much  as  is  often  said  of  the  superior  advan- 
tages enjoyed  by  the  children  of  the  present  age, 
we  have  sometimes  thought,  when  looking  over 
the  well-filled  shelves  of  juvenile  libraries,  em- 
bracing miniature  biographies  and  histories,  and 
stories  without  end,  that  some  of  those  of  the 
past  generation,  whose  only  recreation  was  to  be 
found  in  Plutarch  and  RoUin,  stood  a  better 
chance  of  possessing  a  vigorous  and  active  mind, 
and  powers  capable  of  exertion,  than  very  many 
of  the  youth  of  the  present  time. 

The  child  is  often  praised  for  his  fondness  for 
his  books,  and  his  love  of  reading ;  but  give  him 
a  book  that  requires  some  attention  and  thought, 
one  that  will  really  prove  of  service  and  use 
to  him,  and  generally,  though  fully  adapted  to 
his  capacities,  it  will  soon  be  laid  aside  as  weari- 
some and  uninteresting.  The  teacher  soon  dis- 
covers this,  in  the  selections  he  makes  for  his 
class,  and  when  the  pupil  has  read  through  the 
story-books  contained  in  the  library,  its  interest 
is  exhausted. 

Is  not  some  decided  improvement  needed  ? 

That  parents  are,  first  and  chief  of  all,  solemn- 
ly responsible  for  the  mental  habits  and  moral 
tastes  of  their  children  few  will  deny ;  yet  how 


154  BEGINNING   AND    GROWTH 

few  comparatively  take  any  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject, or  ever  inquire  what  the  child  is  reading,  so 
long  as  he  is  only  quiet,  and  makes  no  interrup- 
tion !  How  few  ever  question  the  child  on  what 
he'  has  read,  or  make  it  an  object  to  ascertain  if 
the  hours  thus  passed  are  of  any  real,  lasting 
benefit  to  him  !  The  free  access  which  many 
children  possess  to  a  common  circulating  library 
has  a  most  baneful  effect  on  their  whole  moral 
and  intellectual  well-being.  We  have  known 
those  whose  parents  were  well  able,  both  from 
education  and  position,  to  instruct  and  direct 
their  children,  allowed  to  select  books  entirely  at 
random ;  and  often  have  we  seen  children  of  ten 
and  twelve  years  of  age,  and  even  younger,  free- 
ly reading  the  emptiest  novels,  and  such  as  had 
a  most  doubtful  moral  bearing. 

What  results  must  necessarily  follow?  The 
taste  becomes  vitiated,  the  moral  perceptions 
blunted,  the  conscience  hardened  by  constant 
familiarity  with  scenes  of  a  low  and  unworthy 
character,  from  which  the  child  would  be  care- 
fully excluded  in  real  life,  and  a  craving  for  con- 
stant excitement  fostered,  until  every-day  duties 
and  definite  studies  become  altogether  tame  and 
uninteresting,  and  by  slow  but  sure  degrees  the 
health  of  the  mind  is  destroyed,  and  its  purity  for 
ever  lost. 

Great  as  is  the  responsibility  of  parents,  are 
not    Sunday-school   teachers   in   a  measure   ac- 


OF    THE    CimiriTIAN    LIFi:.  l.^^.j 

countable  for  the  intellectual  tastes  and  habits 
of  their  pupils?  Ought  not  our  libraries  to  em- 
brace works  of  more  substantial  value  than  are 
now  to  be  found  in  many  or  most  of  them  ? 
and  should  not  the  teacher  make  it  a  more  defi- 
nite aim  to  select  such  books  as  will  really  bene- 
fit the  child  ? 

Only  create  a  demand  for  books  of  a  higher 
order  than  such  as  now  usually  fill  the  shelves  of 
our  juvenile  libraries,  and  it  will  be  met.  There 
is  talent  and  power  and  efficiency  enough  among 
us  to  answer  every  call  for  a  more  extended  use- 
fulness, if  it  only  be  directed  in  the  right  chan- 
nel, if  the  ruling  and  fundamental  aim  be  only 
determined,  lofty,  and  true. 

Subjects  of  this  kind  may  seem  trite  and  insig- 
nificant. They  are  not  so,  when  viewed  in  con- 
nection with  their  true  and  legitimate  results. 
The  humblest  deed,  if  wrought  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  becomes  large  and  divine  ;  and  in  no  of- 
fice more  than  in  that  of  the  Christian  teacher 
do  we  need  the  true  spirit  of  individual  fidelity 
and  of  personal  responsibility  to  God  and  to 
Christ,  —  the  spirit  of  abiding  trust,  and  of  a 
vital,  hopeful  faith,  united  with  a  distinct  and 
definite  aim  for  personal  improvement ;  for  such 
a  spirit,  and  this  only,  will  react  on  the  whole 
body  of  our  schools,  and  render  them  effective 
agencies  for  a  higher  spiritual  nurture. 
14 


156  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  LORD's  SUPPER. 


"  Gethsemane  can  I  forget, 
Or  there  thy  conflict  see, 
Thine  agony  and  bloody  sweat, 
And  not  remember  thee  ? 

"  When  to  the  cross  I  turn  mine  eye, 
And  rest  on  Calvary, 

0  Lamb  of  God,  my  sacrifice! 

1  must  remember  thee !  " 


We  have  already  considered,  more  or  less  in 
detail,  the  essential  qualifications  of  the  religious 
teacher,  and  the  duties  which  he  owes  both  to 
himself  and  his  pupils.  There  remains  still 
another  class  of  duties  and  obligations  really 
embraced  within  these,  but  which  from  its  very 
nature  requires  separate  consideration,  namely, 
the  relation  of  the  teacher  to  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  meet  the  individual 
who  regards  this  relation  as  one  entirely  at  the  op- 
tion of  his  own  inclination,  —  one  which  he  may 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFK.  ]o7 

asfeump  or  ignore  at  pleasure,  and  which  brings 
with  it  no  peculiar  responsibilities  or  privileges. 
He  regards  the  Church  as  a  sort  of  abstraction, 
having  no  vital  connection  with  his  own  spiritual 
\velfare;  as  something  essential,  indeed,  to  the 
promotion  of  Christianity,  but  with  which  he 
has  little  or  nothing  to  do.  He  regards  its  in- 
terests as  belonging  to  a  chosen  few,  and  feels 
that  so  long  as  he  leads  a  correct  and  upright 
life,  so  long  as  his  moral  character  is  irreproach- 
able, and  he  is  active  in  the  duties  of  benev- 
olence and  charity,  he  is  exempt  from  all  further 
obligation. 

The  Apostle's  sublime  thought,  of  all  true 
hearted  believers  forming  one  perfect  spiritual 
body,  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  —  his  spirit 
flowing  through  and  quickening  each  individual 
member,  and  imparting  life,  strength,  and  vigor 
to  each  separate  limb,  without  which  none  could 
perform  its  appointed  functions,  is  regarded  as 
a  sort  of  fanciful  chimera,  never  actually  to  be 
realized  through  individual  growth  and  a  per- 
sonal union  with  the  divine  Saviour. 

The  idea  of  any  distinct,  open,  fearless  choice 
to  be  made  between  the  two  great  forces  that 
even  now  divide  the  entire  moral  universe  is  one 
wholly  lost  sight  of  in  much  of  the  teaching  of 
the  present  day  ;  and  many  rest  satisfied  with  a 
low  standard,  a  tame  mediocrity,  and  a  languid 
piety,  as    if   somehow  all   would  be  w^ell   with 


158  BEGINNING    AND    GHOWTII 

them  in  the.  end,  and  as  if  God  were  altogether 
too  merciful  to  reject  any  iso  good  aa  themselves, 
though  their  virtue  is  only  that  of  outward  sur- 
roundings, though  they  have  known  no  inward 
renewal,  and  have  been  conscious  of  no  close, 
personal  relationship  to  God  and  to  Christ. 

Were  the  Christian  Church  to  have  war  waged 
upon  it  from  without,  as  in  the  earlier  days  of  its 
establishment,  or  were  it  possible  to  have  some 
decisive  proof  by  which  the  genuineness  of  a 
living  faith  might  be  tested,  we  should  witness 
a  stranger  division  now  within  its  borders,  among 
those  nominally  Christians,  than  has  ever  been 
-created  by  the  conflicts  of  creed,  sect,  or  party. 

Go  into  any  of  our  Sabbath  schools,  and  how 
many  do  we  find  engaged  as  teachers  who  have 
never  distinctly  recognized  their  individual  indebt- 
edness to  Christ,  and  who  feel  that  they  have  no 
individual  union  with  his  Church  !  Is  there  not 
something  utterly  incongruous,  to  say  the  least, 
in  acknowledging  the  importance  of  Christ's 
teachings  and  mission,  so  far  as  to  be  desirous  of 
imparting  the  truths  of  his  Gospel  to  others,  and 
yet  feeling  no  obligation  to  fulfil  his  last  and 
dying  request,  or  in  any  direct  form  to  become  a 
living,  active  member  of  the  Church,  which  is 
His  body  ?  Is  there  not  prevalent  a  strange  and 
mistaken  feeling  on  this  whole  subject?  Which, 
indeed,  abstractly  considered,  is  the  most  solemn 
and  responsible  act,  to  commune  with  the  Saviour 


OF    Tin:    CIIRISTIAX    LIFE.  159 

at  his  table,  a  service  individual  in  its  very  nature, 
or  to  seek  to  impart  to  other  spirits  the  eternal 
truths  of  God,  to  utter  words  that  shall  have  an 
undying  influence  over  immortal  souls  ?  Is  it  a 
more  direct  profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  to  obey 
his  parting  command,  "  This  do  in  remembrance 
of  me,"  than  to  gather  the  lambs  of  his  flock,  and 
to  teach  them  of  the  one  good  Shepherd?  Why 
should  the  office  of  the  Christian  teacher  be  one 
so  lightly  assumed,  regarded  as  open  to  the  most 
inexperienced,  considered  too  often  as  embracing 
no  peculiar  obligations,  and  yet  the  two  simple 
rites  by  which  the  individual  recognizes  his  re- 
lation to  the  Church,  or  brings  himself  into  a 
more  intimate  union  with  this  or  that  particular 
organization  of  some  portion  of  the  Church,  be 
so  much  neglected,  as  if  some  far  higher  obliga- 
tion, some  far  more  weighty  responsibility  were 
then  incurred  ?  Is  there  not  a  radical  defect  in 
the  general  mind  on  the  relative  importance  of 
these  subjects  ?  Have  we  not'substituted  a  law 
and  a  standard  of  our  own  for  that  of  the  Gos- 
pel ? 

If  the  individual  be  really  unfit  to  unite  in 
the  sacred  service  of  commemoration,  if  he  have 
no  affection  for  Christ,  no  sense  of  indebtedness 
to  him,  no  conscious  need  of  a  Saviour,  then  he 
is  equally  unfit  to  b'fe  a  teacher  of  divine  truths  to 
others. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  he  so  feels  the  solemn 
14* 


160  BKGIXNING    AND    GROWTH 

realities  of  life,  the  love  of  God,  and  his  own  ob- 
ligations as  a  steward  of  the  divine  bounty,  as  to 
desire  and  pray  to  be  God's  minister  of  good  to 
others,  then  he  ought  to  confirm  this  desire,  and 
strengthen  this  prayer,  by  an  open  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  Saviour's  claims  upon  his  gratitude 
and  love. 

It  is  said,  that  many  are  really  desirous  of 
doing  good  to  others,  and  are  conscientious  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties  as  teachers,  who 
yet  feel  that  they  are  not  "  good  enough "  to 
commune  with  their  Saviour.  Whenever  this 
excuse  is  cofiscientionslf/  given,  we  cannot  but 
feel  that  it  forms  one  strong  reason  why  the 
individual  should  be  the  more  strongly  urged 
gladly  and  freely  to  unite  in  this  simple  service  ; 
for  it  is  the  humble,  the  self-distrustful,  the 
watchful  disciple  who  bears  the  nearest  kindred 
to  his  Master.  As  these  words  are  usually  ut- 
tered, they  imply  an  utterly  wrong  state  of  feel- 
ing, as  if  a  certain  amount  of  goodness,  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  merit,  Were  essential  to  recom- 
mend one  to  the  divine  favor.  The  too  preva- 
lent feeling,  and  one  which  secretly  mars  the 
symmetry  of  njany  an  otherwise  Christ-like  char- 
acter, that  what  we  do  possesses  a  sort  of  in- 
herent efficacy  in  meriting  the  approval  of  God, 
is  one  that  needs  to  be  distinctly  encountered 
both  in  the  preaching  and  the  teaching  of  the 
present  day.     Outward    duties    and    benevolent 


OF    TlIK    CHRISTIAN    LIKE.  161 

organizatiors  are  substituted  for  inward  com- 
munion and  heavenly  aspiration,  and  deeds  of 
charity  are  too  often  made  to  take  the  place  of  a 
living  heart-faith  in  Christ.  So  the  idea  gains  a 
yet  stronger  hold,  that  such  works  may  be  per- 
formed, and  such  duties  engaged  in,  without  any 
deep,  abiding  faith,  as  if  such  poor  deeds  alone 
could  place  the  soul  in  a  state  of  acceptance  and 
reconciliation  with  God. 

Among  all  the  excuses  usually  offered  for  the 
neglect  of  this  beautiful  service  of  commemora- 
tion,—  that  its  observance  was  only  binding 
upon  the  early  disciples,  that  no  visible  good  re- 
sults from  it,  that  the  individual  is  not  good 
enough  to  take  so  decided  a  stand,  that  he  does 
not  want  to  set  himself  up  as  an  example,  that 
he  is  too  diffident  to  profess  so  openly  his  faith 
before  others,  and  many  other  reasons,  only  too 
familiar  to  the  faithful  pastor  or  teacher,  —  there 
is  yet  one,  seldom  urged,  but  which  lies  at  the 
very  foundation  of  all  others,  and  which,  though 
often  unacknowledged  by  the  individual,  is  really 
the  secret  cause  of  all  his  hesitancy,  doubt,  and 
lack  of  interest,  namely,  the  want  of  a  true  love 
to  Christ,  and  of  a  sense  of  personal  indebtedness 
to  him. 

If  this  be  in  the  soul,  —  if  the  deep  sense  of 
unworthiness,  the  conviction  of  sin,  the  dread 
consciousness  of  a  holy  aitd  violated  law,  have 
been  followed  by  peace  and  reconciliation  through 


162  iJKGiNNiNG  And  gro^vtii 

a  crucified  Saviour;  if  gratitude  and  trust  have 
succeeded  the  tears  of  penitence  and  remorse, 
and  a  child-like  faith  in  a  Father's  mercy,  in  the 
consciousness  of  what  Christ  has  done  and  is 
still  doing  for  the  soul,  fills  the  spirit  with  a  quiet 
confidence,  —  then  will  it  no  longer  hesitate.  Its 
ruling  desire  and  earnest  aim  will  be,  to  show  forth 
in  the  fullest  and  clearest  manner  its  heart-felt 
love.  The  whole  life  will  be  the  constant  expres- 
sion of  its  deep  indebtedness,  and  it  will  joyfully 
hasten  to  acknowledge,  in  the  commemoration  of 
its  Saviour  in  the  way  of  his  own  appointment, 
its  personal  gratitude  and  love.  No  fear  of  hu- 
man censure  or  ridicule,  no  thought  of  man,  Avill 
then  stand  between  the  soul  and  its  Redeemer. 

"  'T  is  love,  't  is  love  ;  Thou  diedst  for  me  ! 

I  hear  thy  whisper  in  my  heart ; 
The  morning  breaks  ;  the  shadows  flee  : 

Pure,  universal  Love  thou  art ! 
My  prayer  hath  power  with  God  !   the  grace 

Unspeakable  I  now  receive. 
In  vain  I  have  not  wept  and  strove ; 

Thy  nature  and  thy  name  is  Love  ! " 

This  conviction  of  sin  and  un worthiness,  this 
need  of  pardon  and  reconciliation,  this  love  to 
Jesus,  comes  not  to  the  soul  as  of  itself,  unde- 
sired  and  un  prayed  for.  It  comes  not  amid  the 
press  of  business,  the  search  for  amusement,  the 
mere  mechanical  routiye  of  duty,  but  only  through 
the  sacred  ministries  of  silence  and  solitude  and 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  1G3 

self-recoUc'ction,   through    the   holy  inflaence   of 
prayer  aud  divine  communion. 

Thus  it  becomes  evident  where  alone  we  may 
find  a  church  or  a  school  that  is  really  alive  and 
vital.  "  It  is  only  where  the  reconciling  office  of 
Christ  is  felt  as  a  reality,  and  where  the  imme- 
diate gifts  of  his  divine  spirit  in  the  communion 
of  love  are  a  part  of  the  soul's  experience."  If 
such  be  realized  by  the  Christian  teacher,  if  he 
has  learned  something  of  the  soul's  deeper  expe 
riences,  and  of  his  own  utter  weakness  and  ina- 
bility unless  he  seek  indeed  to  abide  in  Christ, 
then,  as  he  enters  on  his  duties  as  a  guide  to 
others,  he  will  also  openly  acknowledge  his  faith 
in  the  Redeemer,  and  gladly  sit  at  his  Master's 
table,  fulfilling  his  last  and  dying  request,  "  This 
do  in  remembrance  of  me." 

Some  may  ask,  "  Are  not  new  and  solemn 
responsibilities  incurred  by  those  who  thus  take 
upon  themselves  their  Redeemer's  covenant?" 
We  reply.  None  that  are  not  equally  binding 
upon  all  wdio  claim  for  themselves  the  name 
of  Christian.  To  acknowledge,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  Christ  as  the  soul's  guide,  leader, 
and  example,  is  to  acknowledge  the  highest 
standard  of  character,  the  strictest  rule  of  self- 
judgment.-  To  neglect  the  observance  of  this 
simple  yet  comprehensive  ordinance,  established 
by  the  Saviour  himself  in  an  hour  for  ever  con- 
secrated to  the  Christian  heart,  and  hallowed  by 


1G4  BEGlNNI^vG    AND    GUOWXII 

the  observr.nce  of  ages,  is  not  merely  to  neglect 
the  command  of  the  Master,  but  to  slight  the 
dying  request  of  Ilim  whose  love  was  stronger 
than  death,  through  whom  alone  we  have  the 
assurance  of  pardon  and  acceptance.  But  let 
not  this  rite  ever  be  regarded  as  an  end,  as  an 
expression  of  some  definite  attainment  in  good- 
ness;  for  if  so,  what  conscientious  heart  would 
ever  participate  in  it?  No:  it  is  simply  an  ex- 
pression of  personal  attachment  to  the  Saviour, 
of  self-consecration,  —  a  vital  and  hallowed  means 
of  growth.  It  is  now  and  always  communion 
with  the  Master. 

In  the  mystic  language  of  the  Apostle,  the 
Church  is  the  body  of  Christ,  of  which  he  is  the 
living,  ever-present  Head.  Only  as  each  mem- 
ber of  that  body  is  inseparably  united  with  him, 
deriving  from  him  life  and  support,  quickened  by 
his  controlling  spirit,  and  impelled  by  his  divine 
will,  can  it  possess  any  inherent  force,  life,  or 
energy.  So  far  only  as  each  member  fills  his 
own  appointed  office,  so  far  as  each  possesses  an 
individual  life,  earnest,  calm,  and  controlling,  so 
far  as  each  knows  from  an  inward  experience 
the  deep  meaning  of  "  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in 
God,"  will  the  Church  of  Christ  be  a  living- 
Church. 

You  may  form  new  organizations,  you  may 
remodel  the  outward  forms  of  service,  you  may 
erect  churches,  you  may  print  volumes,  you  may 


OF    THK    CimiSTIAN    LIFE.  1G5 

appoint  missionaries  and  gather  new  &i)cieties, 
and  poar  the  streams  of  a  profuse  benevolence 
into  a  thousand  channels, —  but  without  this  in- 
ward life,  without  tliis  living  principle  of  faith, 
this  love  to  God  and  to  Christ  in  the  soul,  all 
efforts,  all  forms,  all  outward  services,  will  be  as 
the  worthless  chaff  blown  away  by  the  passing 
breeze. 

Let,  then,  every  teacher,  as  he  enters  on  the 
duties  of  his  office,  faithfully  examine  himself. 
Let  him  feel  that  his  example  will  not  have  its 
due  weight,  nor  his  teachings  their  rightful  effi- 
cacy^and  that  he  is  not  wholly  true  to  his  Master, 
so  long  as  he  neglects  those  parting  words  expres- 
sive of  the  desire  of  affectionate  remembrance,  so 
long  as  he  withholds  in  any  measure  the  weight 
of  his  example  and  influence  in  promoting  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

Go  back  in  thought  to  that  large  upper  room, 
and  as  one  after  another  the  earnest  and  sorrow- 
ing countenances  of  the  disciples  pass  before 
you,  seek  out  the  one  central  figure.  Him  who  in 
sublime  self-forgetfulness  thinks  only  of  pouring 
comfort  and  strength  into  the  troubled  hearts  of 
those  around  him.  Place  yourself  at  his  feet, 
and  listen  to  those  calm,  sublime  words  of  im- 
mortal ti'ust  and  undying  affection. 

Receive  from  his  lips  the  parting  blessing  of 
his  own  deep  peace  and  quenchless  love ;  drink 
in  his  spirit  of  divine   self-sacrifice ;   know  that 


166  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

yotir  name  was  borne  upon  his  heart  in  that  houi 
of  love,  that  his  interceding  prayer  went  forth 
that  you  also  might  be  made  one  with  him  and 
with  the  Father  ;  follow  him  to  the  garden 
shades ;  watch  beside  him  in  that  hour  of  dread, 
mysterious  agony;  stand  with  the  faithful  few 
beside  the  cross  of  suffering  and  of  shame ;  read 
there  the  assurance  of  pardon  and  reconcilia- 
tion ;  and  then  turn  coldly  away,  if  you  can^ 
and  slight  the  last  and  dying  request  of  your 
Saviour  and  your  Master! 

Some  will  say,  that  they  do  not  feel  ready  to 
take  so  decided  a  stand  with  regard  to  the  re- 
ligious life  as  is  usually  implied  by  participation 
in  this  service.  Remember,  though  you  may 
seeni  long  to  halt,  there  is  in  reality  no  middle 
ground.  "  No  man  can  serve  two  masters."  The 
warfare  of  life  must  be  waged  under  one  of  two 
leaders,  —  and  the  choice  is  your  own. 

Were  Christ  visibly  present,  were  he  in  audible 
voice  to  invite  those  who  cherish  any  degree  of 
love  to  him,  who  are  seeking-  to  be  his  in  heart 
and  life,  to  partake  of  his  feast  of  love,  would 
you  still  turn  away  from  those  touching  memo- 
rials ?  It  is  his  voice  that  speaks  to  you,  his  love 
that  pleads  with  you,  his  hand  that  is  stretched 
forth  to  welcome  you. 

Come,  then,  and  be  openly,  fearlessly,  and 
truly  his  faithful,  loving  disciple.  Come  into 
the  full  participation  of  the  blessings  voucihsafed 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  167 

to  every  earnest,  humble  soul.  Come  into  the 
close  and  intimate  communion  with  your  Lord 
and  INIaster. 

If  you  are  conscious  of  the  sincere  purpose  to 
lead  a  Christian  life,  if  your  prevailing  aim  and 
desire  be  that  you  may  be  a  faithful  disciple  of 
your  Saviour,  if  the  love  of  Christ  be  in  your 
soul,  faint  indeed  compared  with  the  boundless 
gratitude  which  is  his  due,  ye  daily  deepening 
and  strengthening  in  the  hidden  fountains  of 
your  being,  if  you  desire  to  cherish  a  living  faith 
in  him  as  the  Saviour  and  Redeemer  of  the  soul, 
then  is  it  indeed  said  to  you,  "  Come  unto  me ; 
come  gladly,  cheerfully,  trustingly,  —  for  him 
that  cometh,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

Give  to  His  cause  the  whole  weight  of  your 
influence  and  your  example.  Be  closely  united 
with  Him  who  ever  lives  as  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church.  Dwell  in  intimate  union  with  his 
spirit,  and  so  wallv  with  him  from  day  to  day, 
that  those  with  whom  you  are  associated  shall 
indeed  take  knowledge  of  you,  that  you  have 
been  with  Jesus.  Then  as  you  go  to  your 
duties  on  the  Sabbath,  you  will  speak  with  new 
earnestness  and  power,  and  the  hearts  of  the 
young  will  be  through  you  more  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  the  joy 
and  peace  of  a  reconciled  heart. 

If  you  feel  that  the  service  would  be  to  you 
one  of  mere  form  ;  if  you  feel  that  you  have  no 
15 


108  BEGINNING    AND    GliOWTlI 

peculiar  responsibilities  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
no  individual  relations  to  him  as  the  Head  ol 
that  Church ;  if  his  love  has  never  glowed  within 
your  soul,  nor  his  spirit  quickened  within  you 
the  aspiration  for  a  higher  life  ;  if  his  words  have 
never  awakened  the  cry  of  a  contrite  spirit,  nor 
the  earnest  longings  for  pardon  and  reconcilia- 
tion ;  if  you  have  never  felt  your  need  of  a  Medi- 
ator and  Saviour,  —  then  pause,  and  solemnly 
answer  to  yourself  the  question,  "  Why  am  I 
holding  the  responsible  position  of  a  religious 
teacher  and  guide  to  others  ?  By  what  right  am 
I,  in  form  at  least,  seeking  to  influence  the  minds 
of  the  young,  to  impart  to  them  the  truths  of 
eternal  life,  unless  I  know  from  inward  experi- 
ence something  of  their  power?  Am  I  not 
thus  acting  a  false  part?" 

To  one  side  or  the  other,  to  God  or  to  the 
world,  do  you  stand  committed.  Your  own  self- 
judgment  must  render  the  true  verdict.  Postpone 
not,  then,  the  answer  too  long.  As  the  solemn 
scenes  of  that  day  rise  before  you,  when  the  eter- 
nal realities  of  a  future  being  shall  stand  dis- 
closed to  view,  when  face  to  face  you  shall  meet 
Him  whose  voice  has  so  often  pleaded  with  your 
inmost  soul,  resolve  so  to  live,  so  to  unite  yourself 
with  his  Body,  so  to  confess  your  Saviour  in  your 
daily  life  and  before  men,  that  he  will  acknowl- 
edge you  as  his  before  the  Father  and  his  angels. 


OF    THE    CHKISTIAN    LIFE.  1 00 


CHAPTER     XII. 


YHE  RELATION  OF  THE  CHILD  TO  THE  CHURCH, 


Behold,  the  covenant  is  with  you  and  your  children." 


The  relation  of  the  teacher  to  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  closely  and  intimately  connected  with 
that  of  the  child ;  but  no  one  conversant  with  the 
present  state  of  our  schools  can  fail  to  be  aware 
of  the  vague  and  indefinite  feeling  that  exists 
among  the  young  respecting  this  relation,  and 
of  the  lack  of  any  strong  feeling  of  obliga- 
tion to  observe  in  a  fitting  way  and  season 
the  two  simple  ordinances  of  our  faith,  —  Bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Apart  from  other 
opposing  influences,  —  such  as  the  absence  of 
all  home  religious  instruction,  the  low  stand- 
ard of  character  among  many  who  call  them- 
selves members  of  the  Body  of  Christ,  the  re- 
action against  the  use  of  all  outward  forms,  as 
if  they  were  necessarily  inconsistent  with  spir- 
ituality of  faith   and  practice, — it  is  not  to  be 


170  BEGINNING    AND    GKOWTII 

denied  that  much  of  the  present  state  of  cold- 
ness and  utter  indifference  is  to  be  ascribed  to 
the  defective  influence  and  instruction  of  our 
Sunday  schools. 

Many  teachers  dismiss  the  whole  subject  at 
once,  and  consider  it  as  one  with  which  they 
have  no  possible  connection  ;  while  others,  faith- 
ful in  their  general  teachings,  seem  to  regard  it 
as  belonging  only  to  those  of  mature  heart  and 
character,  in  which  the  child  or  youth  has  no 
part  or  interest.  He  is  generally  regarded  as 
standing  apart,  as  it  were,  by  himself,  outside 
the  pale  of  the  Church,  and  his  ever  coming 
into  it  is  too  often  left  as  a  wholly  optional 
matter,  dependent  upon  circumstances,  taste,  or 
even  upon  fashion  alone. 

The  result  of  such  training  is  only  too  clearly 
visible.  The  child  grows  into  the  youth,  and 
the  youth  passes  on  to  maturer  years,  without 
being  surrounded  by  any  constraining  or  controll- 
ing influence  ;  and  as  he  takes  his  part  in  the 
duties  of  active  life,  the  Church  becomes  more 
and  more  to  him  as  a  mere  name,  a  sort  of 
foreign  interest,  with  which  he  has  not  the  remot- 
est personal  connection,  except  so  far  as  custom 
or  general  opinion  demands  a  half-day  attendance 
on  the  services  of  public  worship. 

Is  this  state  of  things  right  or  Christian  ?  Has 
the  child  no  part  in  the  covenant  promises  of  the 
Redeemer?     Is  he  to  be  left  by  himself  to  wan- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  171 

der  in  the  far-off  country,  until  weary  and  dis- 
heartened, filled  with  remorse  and  anguish,  and 
heavily  laden,  he  turns  back  to  seek  his  Father's 
house?  Has  not  the  Church  a  sacred  duty  to 
perform  in  bringing  the  young  from  very  infancy 
into  its  fold,  and  so  guiding,  guarding,  and  edu- 
cating them  that  they  shall  never  wander  from  its 
sacred  in  closure  ? 

Some  may  ask,  "  What  is  to  be  understood  by 
the  Church, — a  word  so  variously  and  often  so 
vaguely  used  ?  "  .  In  the  language  of  another,  we 
reply,  "  It  is  that  body  of  persons  who  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and^  Saviour  of 
men,  crucified  and  risen  ;  and  so  believe  in  Him 
as  to  be  personally  conscious  of  a  supreme  de- 
sire to  live  his  spiritual  life,  to  resemble  him,  and 
be  his  true  redeemed  disciples.  Love  to  God  as 
manifest  in  Christ,  and  love  to  man  as  God's 
child,  must  be  the  ruling  afiections  in  the  soul, — 
whether  they  have  conformed  the  character  per- 
fectly to  them  or  not.  The  Church  is  the  aggre- 
gate of  these  consecrated  souls,  aiming  and  long- 
ing above  all  things,  to  live  righteously ;  irrespec- 
tive of  names,  of  forms,  of  creeds,  of  age,  of 
place,  except  so  far  as  these  afiect  this  internal, 
central  consecration  to  Christ.  Its  boundaries, 
as  it  is  embodied  in  actual  persons,  may  be  indis- 
tinct to  man's  eye,  but  they  are  plain  to  God's  ; 
and  the  definition  is  plain.  The  Church  is  that 
body  of  people,  in  whatever  age  or  nation,  of 
15* 


172  BEGINNING    AND    GROAVTII 

which  Christ  is  literally  and  spiritually  the  Head. 
And  any  one  particular  church  is  a  smaller  col- 
lection of  such  people,  and  so  a  branch  of  the 
Church  Universal." 

According  to  the  teachings  of  Christ,  and  the 
whole  bearing  of  the  New  Testament,  Baptism 
formed  the  initiatory  rite,  by  which  new  converts 
to  Christianity,  or  children  of  Christian  believers, 
were  admitted  to  the  privileges  and  made  par- 
takers of  the  blessings  of  the  Christian  faith  and 
covenant.  All  such  were  regarded  and  treated 
as  of  the  household  of  faith,  and  if  those  bap- 
tized in  infancy  ever  denied  the  covenant-prom- 
ise implied  in  this  dedicatory  rite,  made  by 
parents  or  believing  friends,  and  forsook  the 
guardian  care  that  the  Church  extended  over 
them,  it  was  through  their  own  willing  neglect 
•  or  wrong-doing. 

So  should  it  be  now.  The  child  from  its  first 
opening  years  should  be  led  to  feel  that  as  he  is 
a  member  of  a  particular  household,  and  has  his 
own  definite  and  individual  relations  to  parents, 
brothers,  an^  sisters,  so  is  he  also  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  has  his  peculiar  re- 
sponsibilities and  privileges  as  such ;  and  that  if 
he  ever  forfeits  them,  it  must  be  through  his  own 
act. 

This  view,  of  course,  does  not  preclude  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  regeneration  of  individual  souls. 
The  child  of  Christian  parents,  like  all  others, 


OF    THE    CIIUISTIAN    LIFE.  173 

needs  to  have  a  spiritual  life  formed  within 
him,  in  addition  to  his  natural  life.  Where 
the  child  is  consecrated  from  infancy,  and  edu- 
cated under  Christian  influences,  such  regenera- 
tion, the  second  birth  into  the  new  and  higher 
life,  may  very  early  take  place,  so  that  the  soul 
shall  grow  God-ward  and  heavenward,  even  as 
its  bodily  powers  are  developed  and  strengthened, 
and  he  shall  never  be  conscious  of  the  time  when 
he  was  indifferent  to  spiritual  realities,  when  the 
thought  of  God  was  not  a  constraining  thought, 
and  the  love  of  Christ  a  true  incentive  to 
action. 

If  parents  and  teachers  felt  more  deeply  their 
sacred  responsibility  thus  to  train  the  young  spir- 
its committed  to  their  keeping ;  if  the  life,  the 
spirit,  the  teachings  of  Christ  were  instilled  into 
the  child's  soul  from  very  infancy  by  domestic 
example,  instruction,  and  family  prayer ;  if  he 
were  "  often  reminded  of  his  Church  privileges, 
and  of  the  joy  of  his  Christian  heritage  and 
home,"  then,  as  he  advanced  to  maturer  years, 
would  he  gladly,  in  every  form  and  way,  ac- 
knowledge his  relation  to  the  Church,  and  his 
indebtedness  to  its  one  only  Head. 

As  few,  very  few  children  are  surrounded  by 
such  blessed  home  influences,  and  brought  into 
the  great  spiritual  Church  from  earliest  child- 
hood; as  few,  even  of  those  consecrated  in  in- 
fancy by  the  rite  of  baptism,  are  faithfully  edu- 


174  BECINNING    AND    GROWTH 

cated  as  disciples  of  Christ,  and  escape  the  be- 
immbing  influence  of  the  world  and  of  fashion, 
—  the  rest  must  conae  into  membership  with  the 
spiritual  Church  of  Christ  through  the  only  other 
mode,  that  of  conversion,  of  sincere  penitence, 
and  of  the  birth  of  a  Christian  conviction, — -of  a 
heart  dedication  to  God  through  Christ. 

Whenever  the  child,  the  youth,  or  the  person 
of  mature  years  can  distinctly  and  seriously 
say,  "  I  am  resolved  henceforth,  through  Christ 
strengthening  me,  to  be  a  faithful  disciple,"  then 
does  the  soul  become  united  with  Christ,  as  a 
member  of  his  Body  or  Church. 

Both  the  example  and  the  words  of  Christ  de- 
mand that  this  purpose  and  this  resolve  should 
be  confirmed  and  sealed  by  outward  confession 
and  act.  Where  the  rite  of  baptism  has  not 
been  observed  in  infancy,  in  which  case  it  is 
solely  the  dedicatory  act  of  the  parent,  bring- 
ing the  child  into  covenant  relations  with  the 
Church,  now  is  the  fitting  season  for  the  indi- 
vidual to  follow  his  Master's  example,  and  to 
observe  that  rite,  emblematical  of  the  washing 
of  regeneration,  and  of  the  purity  of  soul  to 
which  the  disciple  aspires,  through  the  putting 
away  of  the  defilements  of  sin,  and  the  cleansing 
and  sanctifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Now  is  the  fitting  and  true  season  for  him 
to  come  to  the  Lord's  table,  to  express  in  out- 
ward form  and  by  free  confession  his  acknowl- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  175 

edgment  of  his  Master's  claims  upon  his  grati- 
tude and  love,  and  to  consecrate  himself  unre- 
servedly and  openly  to  his  service. 

The  rite  is  truly  one  of  remembrance,  of  com- 
memo7'ation ;  and  whenever  it  can  be  made  such 
in  he'art  and  in  spirit,  whenever  the  individual 
of  whatever  age  is  conscious  of  love  to  Christ, 
or  of  the  sincere  desire  to  love  him,  and  wishes 
thus  to  commemorate  him  in  the  way  of  his 
appointment,  —  then  ought  he  to  unite  in  this 
service. 

To  make  no  distinction  between  the  usual 
forms  of  public  worship  and  the  observance  of 
this  service,  to  place  no  difference  between  the 
general  worship  of  the  congregation  and  this 
commemorative  rite,  would  be  at  once  to  ignore 
its  peculiar  character  and  purport;  for  unless  it 
be  a  service  indicative  of  individual  affection, 
love,  and  gratitude,  expressive  of  the  soul's  true 
desire  to  be  brought  into  a  closer  harmony  with 
its  Redeemer,  it  becomes  at  once  a  mere  vain 
and  unmeaning  form. 

Let  no  barrier  of  man's  device  be  placed 
around  the  holy  table.  To  very  many  minds 
some  simple  form  of  personal  confession,  as  the 
individual  first  unites  in  this  service,  seems  right 
and  fitting.  "  It  defines  relations,  and  qualifies 
for  business  measures  and  social  action.  It  is 
an  open,  satisfactory  step.  If  it  involves  a  trial 
of  feeling,  it  is  no  less  acceptable   for  that  cross 


176  BEGIXNINrx    AND    GROWTH 

to  Him  who  bore  the  cross  of  an  infinitely  heavi- 
er sacrifice  for  us.  So  that,  while  joining  one 
particular  church  is  also  entering  into  the  Church 
Universal,  membership  in  the  Church  Universal 
does  not  supersede  the  occasion  for  special  con- 
firmation or  confession  on  the  part  of  those  *who 
desire  to  belong  to  one  portion  of  that  Church  ir 
particular." 

At  the  same  time,  the  use  of  such  a  form 
should  not  be  regarded  as  absolutely  essential; 
for  if  so  regarded,  some  might  absent  themselves 
from  the  service  who  would  otherwise  gladly 
share  in  its  holy  influences ;  and  we  are  aware 
that  there  are  those  who  have  conscientious  ob- 
jections to  the  personal  use  of  any  such  form. 
Let  each  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  It 
is  the  Lord's  table,  not  man's.  It  is  the  Saviour 
who  presides  at  the  feast,  and  his  words  of  invita- 
tion are,   "  Whosoever  ivill^  let  him  freely  come." 

Let  all,  then,  be  freely  invited  to  come  who, 
on  their  own  personal  responsibility,  feel  that 
they  have  a  part  in  his  covenant-promise  ;  all 
who  regard  themselves  as  Christ's  followers,  or 
who  are  desirous  of  making  him  their  guide,  and 
are  looking  to  him  as  their  Saviour  and  Re- 
deemer. 

Let  the  weak  come,  that  they  may  find  strength ; 
the  sorrowing,  that  they  may  be  comforted ;  the 
tempted,  that  they  may  be  sustained ;  the  aged, 
that  they  may  be  blessed ;  and  the  young,  that 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  177 

they  may  be  gathered  into  their  Redeemer's  fold, 
and  have  added  to  the  gladsomeness  of  youth  the 
enduring  joy  and  peace  of  their  Saviour's  presence 
and  love,  —  the  assured  blessedness  of  a  heart  and 
a  life  early  consecrated  to  him  and  his  service. 

Is  it  asked  what  peculiar  instructions  should 
be  given  by  the  Christian  teacher  on  the  observ- 
ance of  these  two  rites  of  our  faith  ?  Wc  reply. 
Whether  the  child  be  one  of  believing  parents  or 
not,  teach  him,  that,  by  the  very  Christian  privi- 
leges he  enjoys  in  the  instructions  of  the  school 
and  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary,  he  holds  some 
definite  relations  to  the  Church,  and  seek,  by 
all  possible  means,  to  deepen  within  his  soul 
the  sacred  importance  of  those  relations.  Con- 
verse with  him  simply  and  freely.  Teach  him 
the  true  meaning  of  these  rites ;  explain  their 
import;  speak  of  their  privileges.  Let  every  lov- 
ing and  hallowed  association  cluster  around 
them,  and  let  him  not  feel  as  if  he  were  a  sort 
of  alien  from  the  true  fold,  only  to  be  brought 
within  its  precincts  by  some  sudden  impulse  or 
spasmodic  effort  in  after  years ;  but  let  the  ten- 
derness of  a  Christian  love,  and  the  watchfulness 
of  a  Christian  heart  enfold  and  guard  his  earliest 
years.  If  in  infancy  he  was  consecrated  by 
parental  love  or  Christian  friendship  to  his  God 
and  his  Saviour,  let  him  be  often  reminded  of 
his  baptismal  dedication,  and  taught  to  live  wor- 
thily of  it. 


178  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

Let  the  school  be  indeed  to  him  as  the  school 
of  Christ;  and  ere  he  leaves  its  guardian  care,  to 
enter  upon  the  toils  and  duties  and  responsibili- 
ties of  maturer  years,  let  him  have  been  so  trained 
and  educated,  under  the  blessing  of  God  and 
through  the  sanctifying  influences  of  the  Spirit, 
that  in  trusting  faith  and  love  he  shall  gladly  lay 
upon  the  sacred  altar  of  commemoration  the 
offering  of  his  youthful  powers  and  strength, 
thus  dedicating  himself  upon  the  threshold  of 
life  to  his  Master's  service. 

Thus,  and  thus  only,  will  the  school  become  a 
true  co-worker  with  the  Church  in  the  Christian 
education  of  the  young,  and  in  the  regeneration 
of  individual  souls.  Thus  only  shall  we  educate 
those  now  pupils  to  become  teachers  worthy  of 
their  vocation  ;  for  only  so  far  as  teachers  are 
themselves  living  members  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  only  so  far  as  they  are  laboring  to  bring 
the  young  into  the  one  great  fold  of  the  Redeemer, 
only  so  far  is  any  school  worthy  to  bear  the  name 
of  its  one  Master  and  Head,  —  worthy  of  being 
called  a  Christian  institution. 

"  The  Spirit,  in  our  hearts, 

Is  whispering,  '  Sinner,  come  ! ' 
The  Bride,  the  Church  of  Christ,  proclaims 
To  all  his  children,  '  Come ! ' 

"  Let  him  that  heareth  say- 
To  all  about  him,  Come  ! 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  17D 

Let  him  that  thirsts  for  righteousness 
To  Christ,  the  fountain,  come  ! 

"  Yes,  whosoever  tcill, 

O  Ut  him  freely  come, 
And  freely  drink  the  stream  of  life : 
'Tis  Jesus  bids  him  come.** 


16 


180  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 


CHAPTER    XIIL 


THE    CHRISTIAN    STANDARD    OF    CHARACTER. 


"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee, 

Nearer  to  thee  ! 

E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me  ; 
Still  all  my  song  would  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee, 
Nearer  to  thee  !  " 


The  questions  are  sometimes  asked  "  whether 
the  Sunday  school  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  perma- 
nent  institution,  and  how  far  it  is  to  be  consid- 
ered as  an  effective  and  tnic  co-worker  with  the 
Church."  The  answer  to  cacii  of  these  questions 
is  one  and  the  same. 

The  permanence  and  the  usefuhiess  of  such 
schools  will  ever  be  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  they  are  made  peculiarly  and 
emphatically  7'eligious  schools.  Just  so  far  as 
they  are  imbued  with  spiritual  life  and  an  inward 
energy ;  just  so  far  as  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  dif- 
fused throughout  the  whole  system,  and  his  rec- 
onciling offices  as  Mediator  and  Saviour  are  felt 
to  be  a  reality  ;  just  so  far  as  the  words  of  Gospel 


OF    TIIK    CITRTSTTAN    LIFE.  181 

truth  are  received  into  the  soul  as  fountains  of 
life, — just  so  far,  and  no  farther,  will  they  be 
self-sustained  and  secure,  —  the  means  of  a  high 
spiritual  growth. 

Let  our  schools  be  characterized  by  no  high 
aims,  no  vital  sense  of  their  dependence  on,  and 
intimate  union  with,  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  ;  let  them  be  mere  intellectual  institu- 
tions, the  teachers  imparting  a  knowledge  of  Gos- 
pel truth  much  in  the  same  way  as  they  would  a 
lesson  from  Euclid ;  let  them  to  any  degree  do 
away  with  home  religious  instruction,  or  lessen  the 
sense  of  parental  responsibility,as  is  sometimes  the 
case, —  and  the  sooner  they  are  closed  the  better. 

That  changes  and  reforms  are  needed  among 
us,  that  we  have  a  right  to  expect  higher  influ- 
ences and  a  more  spiritual  life  to  go  forth  from 
our  schools,  that  we  are  to  look  to  those  educated 
beneath  their  influence  to  be  the  most  faithful 
supporters  of  the  Church  and  the  most  active  in 
all  plans  of  benevolent  enterprise,  few  will  deny. 

Any  change,  any  improvement,  any  real  and 
permanent  good  to  be  effected,  must  begin  at  the 
fountain-head.  The  true  life  of  our  Schools,  as 
they  exist  to-day,  depends  wholly  on  the  religious 
life  of  the  teachers  of  to-day. 

Let  teachers  be,  in  spirit  and  in  life,  conse- 
crated to  their  Master's  service,  willing  to  forego 
ease  and  self-indulgence  to  promote  his  work, — 
earnest  in  self-improvement,  counting  it  all  joy 


182  BEGINNING    AND    GIIOWTH 

if  in  God's  way,  and  not  merely  according  to 
their  own  choice,  they  may  labor  in  his  vineyard 
and  win  souls  to  Christ,  feeling  the  Saviour's 
presence  as  a  constant  incentive  to  duty,  and 
waiting  on  the  Spirit  as  the  sustainer  and  sancti- 
fier  of  the  soul,  —  then  shall  a  power  and  an  in- 
fluence go  forth  from  among  us  to  rouse  the  in- 
different and  careless,  to  break  down  the  strong- 
holds of  sin  and  iniquity,  to  purify  the  streams  of 
fashion  and  worldliness,  to  bring  the  ignorant 
and  wandering  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  to  shed 
light  over  the  dark  places  of  human  misery  and 
guilt,  and  to  render  many  a  barren  and  desolate 
waste  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

Then  would  children  be  nurtured  in  the  beauty 
of  holiness,  and  early  brought  into  covenant  re- 
lations with  their  Redeemer.  Then  would  the 
Church  arise  and  shine,  and  put  on  her  beautiful 
garments,  and  the  ways  of  Zion  would  no  longer 
mourn  because  so  few  come  to  her  solemn  feasts ; 
for  the  Saviour's  animating  presence  would  no 
longer  be  held  by  any  heart  as  a  dim  and  beauti- 
ful tradition  of  the  past,  but  his  constraining  love 
and  the  quickening  impulse  of  his  divine  spirit 
would  be  welcomed  and  cherished  as  the  soul's 
richest  heritage. 

There  is  one  danger  to  which  even  the  truly 
Christian  teacher  is  exposed,  one  evil  through 
which  the  sincerely  consecrated  heart  is  liable  to 
lose  sight  of  its  lofty  aims  and  its  immortal  in- 


or    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  Ibo 

heritance,  —  an  evil  showing  itself  in  so  many 
thousand  different  ways,  and  revealing  its  potent 
influence  under  such  diverse  forms,  that  to  enu- 
merate them  would  be  impossible,  and  yet  which 
mars  many  an  otherwise  Christ-like  character  and 
noble  spirit ;  —  we  refer  to  the  danger  and  the 
evil  of  the  abounding,  potent,  everywhere  preva- 
lent spirit  of  worldliness;  a  spirit  which  not  only 
asserts  its  sway  in  the  market,  the  exchange,  the 
counting-room,  the  gay  and  fashionable  party, 
but  which  presses  itself  into  the  sanctuary  of 
home,  intrudes  upon  the  secret  hours  of  devotion, 
paralyzes  the  noblest  forms  of  benevolence,  and 
tends  to  reverse  the  divine  standard  of  the  Gospel, 
which  for  ever  proclaims  the  supremacy  of  the 
inward  over  the  outward,  and  the  unseen  over 
the  seen  and  perishable.  Its  constant  and  uni- 
versal tendency  is,  to  loiver  the  standard  of  per- 
sonal attainment,  to  degrade  holiness  into  mere 
outward  morality,  the  faith  of  the  heart  into  a 
mere  intellectual  belief,  and  righteousness  into  a 
decent  conformity  with  the  usages  of  the  world. 
The  divine  image  of  purity  and  truth  becomes 
marred,  and  by  degrees  the  holiness  of  Christ  is 
regarded,  not  only  as  beyond  the  attainment,  but 
even  as  beyond  the  earnest  aspiration,  of  the  spirit. 
The  Saviour's  earnest  and  emphatic  words,  "  Ye 
cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon,"  come  to  be 
regarded  as  a  paradox,  and  the  sharp  conflict  be- 
tween the  world  and  God,  between  pride  and 
16* 


184  BEGINNING    AND    GKO^VTII 

self-sufficiency  and  the  eternal  power  and  un 
changeable  holiness  of  the  Divine  will,  is  ear- 
nestly waged,  as  if  outward  decency  could  take 
the  place  of  inward  piety,  and  the  plans  and  ac- 
tivity and  might  of  man  could  work  out  for  him 
an  eternal  salvation  ;  as  if,  to  the  Divine  eye, 
there  were  no  clearly  marked  distinction  between 
a  correct,  upright  deportment,  induced  more  by 
circumstances  than  by  choice,  and  a  heart  conse- 
crated to  God  and  to  Christ. 

What  is  the  only  standard  which  the  Gospel 
recognizes,  and  which  Christ  requires  ?  "  Be  ye 
perfect,  even  as  your  Father  is  perfect."  "  Be  ye 
holy,  for  I  am  holy." 

"Abide  in  me,"  said  the  Saviour,  "and  I  in 
you,  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  And 
how  deep  the  mystic  and  hidden  meaning  of  the 
Apostle's  words,  "  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God!"  Far  more  do  they 
imply  than  a  mere  mechanical  conformity  to  the 
usages  of  society,  and  the  standard  of  the  world, 
or  a  ready  compliance  with  the  force  of  circum- 
stances and  of  education.  They  speak  of  a  power 
at  work  in  the  very  depths  of  the  soul,  a  power 
to  transform,  and  to  renew  ;  of  motives  to  ef- 
fort, to  duty,  and  to  obedience,  of  which  the 
world  takes  no  cognizance,  but  which,  when  in- 
wrought into  the  soul,  clothe  it  as  with  a  giant's 
strength,  and  invest  it  with  a  superhuman  power. 
They  imply  a  heart  at  one  with  Christ,  perme- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIl'E.  185 

ated  by  his  divine  life,  his  spirit  prompting  every 
true  feeling  and  noble  exertion  ;  a  will  in  entire 
harmony  with  his,  never  seeking  its  own  pur- 
poses, but  moved,  swayed,  and  governed  by  the 
divine.  They  speak  of  a  soul  freed  from  self, 
living  only  in  and  through  Christ,  and  conse- 
crated to  him,  not  only  for  life,  but  for  eternity; 
—  a  soul  so  consecrated  that  it  shall  be  willing 
to  be  buffeted  even  in  its  highest  desires,  if  thus 
it  shall  be  made  more  lowly,  and  brought  near- 
er the  divine  humility  of  the  Saviour.  It  is 
equally  ready  to  suffer  as  to  act;  to  serve  in  si- 
lence, pain,  or  loneliness,  as  on  the  busy  +heatre 
of  life  ;  for  the  life  is  but  the  spontaneous  expres- 
sion of  its  purest  love,  which  asks  nothing  from 
others,  claims  nothing  for  itself,  but  rejoices  that 
in  any  way  it  can  labor  for  Christ,  or  express  its 
gratitude  and  affection. 

Is  such  an  attainment  easy  ?  Is  it  to  be 
won  by  cold  endeavors,  faint  aspirations,  occa- 
sional longings,  and  heartless  prayers?  Has  it 
nothing  to  combat  in  the  low  standard  of  world- 
ly goodness,  and  self-righteous  morality  ?  —  no 
fearful  word  of  rebuke  for  self-satisfied  indolence, 
no  trumpet  tongue  to  arouse  the  slumbering  soul 
from  its  death-like  trance  of  self-complacent 
worldliness  ?  Has  it  no  emphatic  voice  of  warn- 
ing, no  quickening  word  of  power,  to  him  who 
would  guide  others  in  the  way  of  life,  w4io  seeks 
to  point  the  young,  the  ardent,  the  aspiring  soul 


186  BEGINNING    AND    GROWTH 

to  the  nobler  heights  of  Christian  attainment  and 
heavenly  goodness  ? 

There  is  nothing,  as  some  might  imagine, 
strange,  forced,  or  unnatural  in  a  life  like  this. 
It  is  simply  and  only  following  Christ  in  daily 
duty,  walking  w^ith  him,  looking  constantly  to 
him  for  guidance  and  help,  acknowledging  his 
claims  as  the  Master  of  the  soul,  and  yielding 
to  him  the  ready  and  glad  obedience  he  requires. 
A  child  can  understand  the  meaning,  and  recog- 
nize the  beauty  of  this  life  of  holiness;  while  the 
faithful  Christian  of  threescore  years  and  ten, 
whose  brow  may  seem  to  others  visibly  encircled 
as  with  a  crown  of  glory,  will  feel  that  he  has 
but  taken  his  first  steps  heavenward,  so  constant- 
ly will  the  Divine  image  manifested  in  Christ 
grow  upon  his  soul,  ever  revealing  nobler  and 
nobler  heights  of  attainment. 

"Blessed  are  they  who  do  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness  "  ;  for  the  promise  is  alone  to 
those  who  would  gladly  feed  on  that  living  Bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven,  and  who  truly 
thirst  for  the  pure  waters  of  life,  that  "  they  shali 
be  filled." 

"  O,  sacred  union  with  the  Perfect  Mind  ! 

Transcendent  bliss,  which  thou  alone  canst  give  ! 
How  blest  are  they  this  pearl  of  price  who  find, 
And,  dead  to  earth,  have  learned  in  thee  to  live  ! 

"  O  go,  and  learn  this  lesson  of  the  cross, 

And  tread  the  way  which  saints  and  prophets  trod, 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  187 

Who,  counting  life  and  self  and  all  things  loss, 
Have  found  in  inward  death  the  life  of  God." 

Go  forth,  then,  Christian  teacher,  to  your  du 
ties,  fully  and  freely  recognizing  your  high  call- 
ing;  for  only  through  this  deep  religious  life,  only 
through  souls  thus  consecrated,  will  our  schools 
become  worthy  the  support  of  Christian  hearts^ 
worthy  the  fostering  and  guardian  care  of  the 
Church,  or  worthy  to  bear  the  name  of  their 
divine  Master. 

Go  forth  with  vigor,  with  earnestness,  and 
with  a  living  faith  in  the  eternal  word  of  prom- 
ise. Go  forth,  nerved  as  with  a  divine  impulse, 
to  labor  in  the  vineyard,  restrained  by  no  false 
doubts  or  unworthy  misgivings.  Go,  charged 
with  something  of  the  noble  Christian  energy 
that  animated  Gordan  Hall,  when  he  offered  to 
work  his  way  to  the  field  ;  with  the  earnest  zeal 
and  trusting  faith  through  which  the  faithful 
Crocker  adopted,  as  his  only  motto  of  life, 
"  What  ought  to  be  done  can  be  done,  Christ 
strengthening  us  "  ;  with  the  unquenchable  ardor 
and  consecrated  energy  of  the  devoted  Brainerd, 
who  so  early  rested  from  his  labors  in  the  earthly 
vineyard  of  his  Lord. 

Above  all,  go  forth  in  the  spirit  and  the  name 
of  Christ.  Though  discouragements  are  around 
you,  though  trials  encompass  your-  path,  though 
you  may  witness  no  present  results  of  your  la- 
bors, hesitate  not  to  tread  even  the  rough  path 


188  BEGINNING    AND    GUOWTII 

of  duty,  for  Christ  dwells  ever  at  your  side. 
Like  the  beloved  disciple,  lean  on  his  breast; 
cling  to  his  supporting  hand,  kneel  huriibly  at  his 
feet.  Enter  into  a  true  and  living  fellowship 
with  him,  that  you  may  know,  from  glad  expe- 
rience, the  meaning  of  "  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in 
God." 

Obey  the  Saviour's  parting  command,  first 
and  chief  of  all,  by  preaching  the  truth  through 
a  Christ-like  life  and  conversation,  by  being  your- 
self a  living  gospel,  known  and  read  of  all  men. 

Proclaim  the  words  of  truth,  not  alone  on  the 
Sabbath  hour,  and  to  the  few  gathered  in  your 
class,  but  regard  it  as  your  noblest  privilege,  in 
any  way  or  form,  to  make  known  the  power  and 
the  blessedness  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Accord 
ing  as  you  have  found  him  precious  to  your  ow  ■ 
soul,  so  speak  in  confidence  and  faith  to  th  ^ 
young,  the  erring,  or  the  tempted.  Dwell  ii 
daily  communion  with  your  God  and  your  Sav- 
iour, and  through  the  deep  life  of  lowly  prayer 
so  realize  the  great  truths  of  your  inward  being 
that  other  souls  shall  feel  the  quickening  influ- 
ences of  your  spirit,  and  your  words  shall  be  vital 
with  a  divine  power  and  energy.  Look  upward, 
and  catch  the  inspiring  glance  of  the  Master's 
eye,  and  hear  the  thrilling  sound  of  his  voice,  as 
in  tender  love  he  bids  even  the  little  children 
come  to  him,  —  and  then,  in  the  child's  spirit  and 
the  child's  faith,  receive  the  proffered  blessing. 


OF    THE*  CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  189 

Remember,  that,  should  your  convictions  of 
truth  and  of  duty  ever  lead  you  to  a  solitary 
path  of  efi'ort,  you  are  not  laboring  alone,  for  if 
but  faithful  to  your  own  soul,  all  the  great  forces 
of  the  spiritual  universe  are  pledged  in  your  be- 
half. Remember  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses  by 
which  you  are  surrounded,  not  only  the  earnest 
and  true  of  past  times,  but  those  wiiose  faithful 
lives  and  loving  spirits  have  blessed  our  own 
homes  and  schools,  and  left  in  many  hearts  the 
sacred  memories  of  their  Christ-like  walk  and 
conversation. 

Not  alone  have  they  left  us  to  labor ;  for  though 
hid  from  mortal  sight,  their  spirits  still  abide  with 
us  in  the  fellowship  of  faith  and  of  love,  bidding 
us  to  strive  as  they  have  striven,  to  trust  as  they 
have  trusted,  and  still  to  faint  not  in  well-doing 

Go  forth,  then.  Christian  teacher,  casting  aside 
once  and  for  ever  alj  coldness,  all  indifference,  all 
low  aims  and  merely  worldly  standards  of  excel- 
lence. Consecrate  yourself  in  heart  and  life,  in 
soul  and  strength,  to  your  Redeemer's  service. 
Enter  into  covenant  relations  with  your  souTs 
only  Saviour.  Seek  the  constant  help  and  the 
sanctifying  influences  of  the  Spirit.  Lean  upon 
the  Father's  proffered  support  and  blessing.  And 
when  called  into  the  more  immediate  presence 
of  the  Great  Shepherd  of  souls,  may  you  expe- 
rience a  glad  reunion  with  the  little  flock  here  • 
committed  to  your  keeping;  may  you  be  enabled. 


190 '^  GROWTH    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

with  humble  confidence  and  a  trusting  faith,  to 
render  up  the  account  of  your  sacred  steward- 
ship ;  and  being  found  faithful  unto  death,  may 
you  receive  from  the  Master's  hands  the  crown 
of  life. 

May   your   witness   be  in  heaven,  and   your 
record  on  high ! 


THE    END. 


Date  Due 


